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THE  THEISTIC  ARGUMENT  AS  AFFECTED  BY  RECENT  THE- 
ORIES. A  Course  of  Lectures  delivered  at  the  Lowell  Institute  in 
Boston.  By  J.  Lewis  Diman,  D.  D.,  Late  Professor  of  History  and 
Political  Economy  in  Brown  University.  Edited  by  Prof.  George  P. 
Fisher,  of  Yale  College.     Crown  8vo,  $2.00. 

ORATIONS  AND  ESSAYS,  WITH  SELECTED  PARISH  SERMONS. 
By  J.  Lewis  Diman,  D.  D.  With  a  Commemorative  Address  by 
Prof.  J.  O.  Murray,  D.  D.  A  Memorial  Volume.  With  etched 
Portrait.     8vo,  gilt  top,  $2.50. 

Contents  :  A  Commemorative  Discourse.  J.  Lewis  Diman.  By 
the  Rev.  J.  O.  Murray.  Literary  and  Historical  Addresses:  The 
Alienation  of  the  Educated  Class  from  Politics;  The  Method  of  Aca- 
demic Culture  •  Address  at  the  Unveiling  of  the  Monument  to  Roger 
Williams  in  Providence;  The  Settlement  of  Mount  Hope;  Sir  Henry 
Vane. — Reviews:  Religion  in  America,  1776-1876;  University  Cor- 
porations.—  Sermons:  The  Son  of  Man;  Christ,  the  Way,  the  Truth, 
and  the  Life;  Christ,  the  Bread  of  Life;  Christ  in  the  Power  of  His 
Resurrection ;  The  Holy  Spirit,  the  Guide  to  Truth  ;  The  Baptism  of 
the  Holy  Ghost ;  The  Kingdom  of  Heaven  and  the  Kingdom  of  Nature. 

HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  &   COMPANY, 

BOSTON   AND   NEW   YORK. 


MEMOIRS 


Rev.  J.  LEWIS  DIMAN,  D.  D. 

LATE    PROFESSOR    OP    HISTORY    AND   POLITICAL 
ECONOMY    IN    BROWN    UNIVERSITY 


COMPILED   FROM 

HIS  LETTERS,  JOURNALS,  AND  WRITINGS,  AND 
THE  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  HIS  FRIENDS 


CAROLINE  HAZARD 


BOSTON"  AND   NEW  YORK 
HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  AND   COMPANY 

(ftfce  Rtoer$fce  #ress",  Camfcrit>0e 

1887 


V5^ 


Copyright,  1886, 
By  CAROLINE   HAZARD. 

All  rights  reserved. 


The  Riverside  Press,  Cambridge: 
Electrotyped  and  Printed  by  II.  0.  Houghton  &  Co. 


:_3 
O 


PREFACE, 


In  preparing  this  volume  I  have  been  aided 
by  many  of  Mr.  Diman's  friends,  to  whom  my 
thanks  are  due,  not  only  for  the  letters  and 
recollections  they  have  sent,  but  for  much 
kindly  encouragement  and  sympathy.  Even 
where  all  that  I  received  does  not  appear,  it 
has  still  been  most  valuable  in  enlarging  the 
field  of  choice,  and  in  creating  an  atmosphere 
of  loving  remembrance  to  work  in.  To  Presi- 
dent Angell  I  owe  especial  thanks ;  and  to 
that  genial  Critic,  from  whose  suggestions 
the   volume   took   final    shape. 

"  What  any  of  us  has  consciously  attempted 
or  achieved  is  but  a  small  part  of  his  actual 
work,"  wrote  Mr.  Diman.  The  record  of 
the  events  of  his  life  can  give  only  a  partial 
and  incomplete  view  of  it.     The  little  daily 


vi  PREFACE. 

courtesies,  the  constant  overflow  of  a  pure 
and  scholarly  spirit,  the  subtle  graces  of  mind 
and  manner  that  made  the  man,  these  defy 
analysis,  and  resent  chronicle. 


C.  H. 


Oakwoods,  in  Peace  Dale,  R.  I. 
November  13,  1886. 


CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER  I. 

Bristol.  —  Ancestry.  —  Birth,  May  1,  1831.  —  Deacon 
Jeremiah  Diman.  —  Hannah  Luther.  —  Byron  Di- 
man.  —  Abby  Alden  Wight.  —  Birthplace.  —  The 
King  Philip.  —  Recollections  by  Miss  Alden.  — 
Childhood.  —  School.  —  Play.  —  Anecdotes.  —  Rec- 
ollections by  Mrs.  De  Wolf.  —  Study.  —  Rainy  Days. 

—  Recollections  by  a  Schoolmate.  —  The  Meeting- 
House.  — His  "Call" 1 

CHAPTER   II. 

School.  —  Home  Influence.  —  First  Commonplace  Book. 

—  Enters  Brown  University,  1847.  —  College  Com- 
monplace Books.  —  Historical  Reading.  —  Memoirs. 

—  Poetry.  —  Religious  Works.  —  Influence  of  Dr. 
Wayland.  —  Unites  with  the  First  Church  of  Bris- 
tol. —  The  Year's  Reading.  —  Careful  Habits.  — 
Winter  of  1849-50.  —  Latin  and  Greek.  —  EngUsh 
Literature.  —  French.  —  Philosophy.  —  Recollections 
by  Professor  George  I.  Chace.  —  Recollections  by 
Judge  H.  B.  Staples.  —  Butler's  Analogy. — Recol- 
lections by  Professor  William  Gammell.  —  Recollec- 
tions  by   Professor  John  L.   Lincoln.  —  Letters. — 

To  Rowland  Hazard.  —  To  James  O.  Murray   .         .       18 

CHAPTER   III. 

1851-1853.     aet.  20-22. 
Graduation    from   Brown   University.  —  Newport.  — 
Letters  to   James  B.   Angell.  —  Study.  —  Practical 


viii  CONTENTS. 

Duties.  —  Distrust  of  Seminary  Life.  —  Congre- 
gationalism. —  Family  Prayers.  —  Bible  Class.  — 
Asylum.  — A  Minister's  Life.  —  Andover.  —  Plan  of 
Study  Abroad.  —  Difficulties.  —  Studies.  —  Recol- 
lections by  Dr.  James  Gardiner  Vose  and  Dr.  Leon- 
ard Woolsey  Bacon 42 

CHAPTER  IV. 
1854-1855.    aet.  23-24. 
Sailed  for  Europe.  —  Bremen.  —  Brunswick.  —  Halle. 

—  Professor  Tholuck.  —  Matriculation.  —  Erd- 
mann's  Address.  —  Calls  on  Professors.  —  Lectures, 
Twenty  a  Week.  —  Tholuck  as  a  Preacher.  —  Muller 
as  a  Lecturer.  —  Conversation  with  Tholuck.  —  "  Old 
Year's  Day."  —  Letter  to  his  Father.  —  Mme.  Leo. 

—  Farewell  to  Halle.  —  Recollections  by  Rev.  C.  C. 
Tiffany 62 

CHAPTER  V. 
1855-1856.     aet.  24-25. 
Leipsic.  —  Dresden  Gallery.  —  Nuremberg.  —  Munich. 

—  Heidelberg.  —  Matriculation.  —  Lectures.  —  Ger- 
man Speculation.  —  Translation  from  Paul  Gerhardt. 

—  Calls  on  Bunsen.  —  Umbreit.  —  Reminiscences  of 
Bunsen.  —  Switzerland.  —  Travel.  —  Berlin.  —  Lep- 
sius.  —  Althaus.  —  Nitzsch.  —  Trendelenburg.  — 
First  Sermon  written.  —  Prayer-Meeting.  —  Strauss. 

—  Recollections  by  Rev.  C.  C.  Tiffany.  —  Travel. — 
Paris.  —  London.  —  Maurice.  —  Industrial   Schools. 

—  House  of  Commons.  —  Travel  in  England.  — First 
Sermon  preached.  —  Scotland.  —  Return  Home    .     .      83 

CHAPTER   VI. 

1856-1860.     aet.  25-29. 
Licensed   to   preach   by  the  Essex  South  Association. 

—  Sorrow.  —  First  Congregational  Church  in  Fall 
River.  —  Letters  to  Miss  Emily  G.  Stimson.  —  To 


CONTENTS.  IX 

Rev.  J.  O.  Murray.  —  To  Dr.  Shepard.  —  Calls  to 
other  Churches.  —  Correspondence  with  Dr.  Horace 
Bushnell.  —  Call  to  Hartford  declined.  —  To  Rev. 
J.  O.  Murray.  —  Manner  in  the  Pulpit.  —  Letters  to 
Miss  Emily  G.  Stimson.  —  State  of  Mind.  —  Human 
Destiny.  —  Dr.  Bellows's  Sermons.  —  Jacqueline  Pas- 
cal. —  Robertson.  —  Clarendon.  —  Theodore  Parker. 

—  Pascal.  —  Resignation  of  the  Pastorate.  —  Death 

of  Mr.  Stimson 108 

CHAPTER  VII. 
1860-18G4.    aet.  29-33. 
Marriage.  —  Harvard  Congregational  Church,  Brook- 
line. —  Examination.  —  View  of   the   Atonement. — 
The  Humanity  of  Christ.  —  The  Incarnation.  —  Di- 
vine Life  in  Human  Nature.  —  Statements  of  Truth. 

—  The  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost.  —  The  Council. 

—  Letters  to  Dr.  Rufus  Ellis.  —  Dissension  in  the 
Church.  —  Letter  to  Henry  W.  Diman.  —  Comments 

of  Professor  George  P.  Fisher  .....     131 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
1864-1868.  aet.  33-37. 
Providence  Home.  —  College  Work.  —  Public  Lec- 
tures on  Political  Economy.  —  Letter  to  Rev.  J.  O. 
Murray.  —  Preaching.  —  Fourth-of-July  Oration.  — 
Letters  to  President  Angell.  —  Vacation  Trip  to  Chi- 
cago. —  John  Cotton's  Reply  to  Roger  Williams.  — 
Letters  to  President  Angell.  —  Discourse  in  Com- 
memoration of  Professor  Dunn.  —  Sunday  Cars.  — 
Sermons  in  Storms.  —  The  Close  of  the  Year    .         .     153 

CHAPTER  IX. 

1868.    aet.  37. 
Connection  with  the  Providence  Daily  Journal. — Edi- 
torials. —  English    Politics.  —  German    Politics.  — 
Franco-Prussian  War.  —  Reviews.  —  Religious   and 


X  CONTENTS. 

Educational  Topics.  —  Fourth-of-July,  Thanksgiv- 
ing, and  New  Year's  Articles.  —  Christmas       .         .     171 

CHAPTER  X. 
1868,    aet.  37. 

Letters  to  President  Angell.  —  Academic  Duties.  — 
Reading.  —  College  Lecture.  —  Dictation.  —  Outline 
of  Course  of  Study.  —  Saturday  Questions.  —  Re- 
naissance. —  Examination.  —  Modern  History.  — 
Constitution  of  the  United  States.  —  Recollections 
of  the  Class-Room 198 

CHAPTER  XL 

1869-1871.    aet.  38-40. 

Letter  to  President  Angell.  —  Amherst  Oration.  — 
Preaching.  —  Letter  to  Miss  Emerson.  —  Home  Life. 

—  Thanksgiving.  —  Letters  to  President  Angell.  — 
Offers  of  a  Professorship  in  Harvard  University.  — 
Letters  to  President  Eliot.  —  Offer  declined.  —  Lec- 
ture. —  Harvard  again.  —  Degree  of  Doctor  of  Di- 
vinity. —  Offer  from  Wisconsin  of  the  Presidency  of 
the  State  University.  —  School  Board.  —  A  Deer 
Hunt  on  the  Raquette 228 

CHAPTER  XII. 

1871-1875.     aet.  40-44. 

Letters  to  President  Angell.  —  New  Lectures.  —  Arti- 
cles. —  Offer  from  Princeton.  —  College  Work.  — 
Arlington  Street  Church,  Boston.  —  Normal  School. 

—  Private   Classes.  —  Plan   defined.  —  Renaissance. 

—  Lectures.  —  Manner  of  Lecturing.  —  Analysis  of 
Lecture.  —  Outline  of  Succeeding  Courses  of  Lec- 
tures. —  Letters  to  President  Angell.  —  The  Thirty 
Years'  War.  —  Gustavus  Adolphus.  —  Simultaneous 
Courses.  —  Evening  Classes.  —  The  Friends'  School  .    254 


CONTENTS.  XI 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

1872-1876.     aet.  4L45. 

Letters  to  President  Angell.  —  Preaching  in  Hartford. 

—  "  George  Fox  Digg'd  out  of  his  Burrowes."  — 
Election  to  Massachusetts  Historical  Society.  —  Eu- 
rope. —  Letters  to  his  Wife.  —  Letters  to  President 
Angell.  —  Offer  of  a  Parish  in  Boston.  —  Letter  to 
Dr.  Ruf us  Ellis.  —  Friday  Evening  Club.  —  Recollec- 
tions by  Dr.  S.  L.  Caldwell 276 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
1877-1879.     aet.  46-48. 

Oration  at  Cambridge.  —  Letter  to  President  Angell. 

—  Offer  of  a  Professorship  in  the  Johns  Hopkins 
University.  —  North  American  Review.  —  Reform 
School.  —  Rhode  Island  Hospital.  —  The  Capture  of 
Prescott.  —  The  Roger  Williams  Address.  —  Letters. 

—  Address  at  the  Opening  of  the  Rogers  Free 
Library  in  Bristol.  —  Bristol.  —  Commencement.  — 
Letter  to  Mr.  Augustus  Lowell.  —  Letter  to  Presi- 
dent Gilman.  —  Accepts  Invitation  to  deliver  a 
Course  of  Lectures  before  the  Lowell  Institute.  — 
Baltimore  Lectures.  —  Preparation  of  Briefs.  —  Pres- 
ident Gilman  on  the  Lectures.  —  Letters  to  Mrs.  Di- 
man 303 

CHAPTER  XV. 
1879-Feb.  3,  1881.    aet.  48-49  and  9  months. 

Normal  School  Lectures.  —  Lowell  Institute  Lectures. 

—  Preparation  for  them.  —  Pressure  of  Work.  — 
Professor  Fisher's  Opinion  of  the  Lectures.  —  Pro- 
fessor  Chace's   Opinion.  —  Mr.    R.   Hazard   on   the 


xii  CONTENTS. 

Book.  —  Letter  to  President  Angell.  —  Letter  to 
President  Gilman.  —  Lectures  on  Constitutional  His- 
tory. —  Trip  to  the  Maine  Woods.  —  Bi-Centennial 
Address  at  Bristol.  —  Political  Speech.  —  Lectures 
on  the  Nineteenth  Century.  —  Letters  to  President 
Gilman.  —  Last  Letter  to  President  Angell.  —  Lec- 
ture on  Canning.  —  Illness.  —  Death  .         .         .     323 

List  op  Publications 349 

Index 353 


TO  THE  MEMBERS  OF  MR.  DIM  AN*  S  HISTORY 

CLASSES. 

The  radiant  soul,  ivhose  life  is  here  revealed, 
Stands  not,  reserves  cast  off,  as  to  confess, 
But  clothed  in  robes  of  thought,  the  seemly  dress 

Of  gracious  speech  ;  a  radiance  half  concealed. 

The  best  and  highest  unto  him  appealed  ; 
The  inmost  springs  of  life,  the  blessedness 
Were  hid  with  God  ;  nor  can  the  tongue  express 

The  secret  power  such  souls  as  his  can  vjield. 

Ye  who  that  power  have  felt,  vouchsafe  to  take 
This  record  of  his  earthly  life  now  passed  ; 

Once  more  toe  hear  his  voice  from  silence  break- 

From  out  the  hush  of  years  again  it  rings, 

And  comfort,  hope,  endurance,  courage  brings, 
Aids  to  true  life,  which  knows  nor  first  nor  last. 


MEMOIRS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Bristol.  —  Ancestry.  —  Birth,  May  1,  1831.  —  Deacon  Jere- 
miah Diman.  —  Hannah  Luther.  —  Byron  Diman.  —  Abby 
Alden  Wight. — Birthplace. — The  King  Philip.  —  Rec- 
ollections by  Miss  Alden.  —  Childhood.  —  School.  —  Play. 

—  Anecdotes.  —  Recollections  by  Mrs.  De  Wolf.  —  Study. 

—  Rainy  Days.  —  Recollections  by  a  Schoolmate.  —  The 
Meeting-House.  —  His  "  Call." 

On  the  eastern  shore  of  Narragansett  Bay, 
commanding'  an  inner  harbor,  looking  over  the 
placid  waters  to  Mount  Hope,  stands  the  old 
town  of  Bristol.  Its  wide  streets,  arched  with 
stately  trees,  its  spacious  common,  set  apart 
at  its  foundation  for  public  use,  its  fine  pub- 
He  buildings,  attest  the  liberality  and  love  of 
its  inhabitants. 

"  Here  we  were  born,"  says  Mr.  Diman,  in 
his  bi-centennial  address  ;  "  here  by  the  fire- 
side Ave  first  heard  the  accents  of  affection  ; 
here  in  the  school-room  we  learned  our  earliest 
lessons  ;  here  in  the  house  of  God  we  were 
taught  the  consoling  truths  that  alone  com- 
pensate for  the  losses  which  a   day  like  this 


2  MEMOIRS. 

brings  so  vividly  to  mind.  A  cloud  of  wit- 
nesses, invisible  to  mortal  eye,  look  down 
upon  us.  There  are  no  ties  more  sacred  than 
those  of  which  we  are  now  reminded.  We 
have  come  to  the  home  of  our  childhood,  to 
the  graves  of  our  fathers."  Most  binding 
were  such  ties  upon  such  a  man  as  Mr.  Di- 
man,  whose  life  began  in  this  ancient  town. 
His  great-great-grandfather,  "  Jeremiah  Diman 
came  to  Bristol  from  Easthampton,  Long  Isl- 
and, about  the  year  1730.  The  family  was 
of  French  extraction,  and  up  to  the  middle 
of  the  last  century  the  name  was  usually 
spelled  Dimont,  or  Diment.  Dimon  and  Di- 
mond  are  more  modern  forms.  It  would 
seem  that  the  name  was  originally  Dumont, 
if  it  be  true,  as  stated  in  the  '  Patronymica 
Britannica,'  that  in  the  parish  register  of 
Brenchley,  Kent,  it  is  recorded  'that  John 
Diamond,  son  of  John  du  Mont,  the  French- 
man, was  baptized  in  1612.'  The  first  of  the 
name  in  this  country  was  Thomas  Dimont, 
who  settled  in  Easthampton  about  1656."  1 
His  grandson  Thomas  was  the  father  of  the 
first  Jeremiah,  who  came  to  Bristol  in  1730. 
Deacon  Jeremiah  Diman  was  grandson  to  this 

1  Transactions  of  the  Rhode  Island  Society  for  Encouragemer.t 
of  Domestic  Industry,  1865. 


ANCESTRY.  3 

first  comer  and  grandfather  to  Jeremiah  Lewis 
Dhnan,  who  was  born  May  1,  1831,  in  the 
town  where  for  four  generations  his  family 
had  lived.  This  Deacon  Jeremiah  Diman 
seems  to  have  been  a  man  of  remarkable  pu- 
rity and  sweetness  of  character.  He  was  said 
to  be  "  peculiarly  mild  in  disposition,  gentle 
in  manners,  and  domestic  in  his  habits.  In 
his  religious  feelings  he  was  uniformly  medi- 
tative, peaceful,  and  abiding  ;  never  excited, 
never  depressed."  He  was  born  in  1767,  and 
"  carried  a  vivid  recollection  to  his  grave  "  of 
the  struggle  for  independence.  The  burning 
of  the  Gaspee  and  the  "  wanton  attack  upon 
this  quiet  village,  whereby  many  of  its  habi- 
tations were  laid  in  ashes,  and  the  families 
driven  into  the  country  for  protection,"  made 
peculiar  impression  upon  him,  and  we  can 
fancy  the  tales  his  grandson  must  have  heard 
from  his  lips.  He  was  a  great  reader,  with 
a  good  memory,  fond  of  investigation  and  ar- 
gument, and  was  deacon  of  the  Catholic  Con- 
gregational Church  for  over  twenty  years. 

Hannah  Luther,  the  wife  of  this  worthy 
man,  has  also  "  left  a  most  enviable  record  in 
her  neighborhood."  She  was  a  grand-niece  of 
Benjamin  Franklin,  as  Frances  Franklin,  her 
grandmother,   was  sister  of  the  philosopher. 


4  MEMOIRS. 

"  She  was  a  woman  of  strong  character. 
Though  ambitious  and  of  a  high  spirit,  she 
was  contented  in  a  retired  life.  Tall,  with 
fair  complexion,  blue  eyes,  and  auburn  hair, 
she  was  said  to  look  at  seventy  years  more 
like  a  woman  of  thirty.  She  carried  through 
life  a  great  sorrow,  the  sudden  death  of  a 
lovely  son,  —  never  mentioning  his  name  to 
the  end  of  her  life.  She  was  a  careful  reader 
of  good  books,  and  was  noted  as  an  excellent 
housekeeper  and  for  her  hospitality  to  all,  par- 
ticularly to  ministers  and  their  families,  and 
for  her  kindness  to  the  poor  and  suffering." 

Their  son  Byron  Diman,  the  father  of  J. 
Lewis  Diman,  inherited  the  strong  character 
of  his  mother,  and  the  vigorous  mental  traits 
of  his  father.  "  The  most  marked  feature  of 
his  intellectual  character,"  says  the  writer  of 
his  obituary,  "  was  his  fondness  for  antiquarian 
lore.  Possessing  a  wonderfully  retentive  mem- 
ory for  dates  and  persons,  he  delighted  to  dis- 
cuss the  days  gone  by  and  call  back  the  men 
of  a  former  generation.  With  him,  it  may  be 
safely  affirmed,  perished  one  of  the  largest 
funds  of  local  history  possessed  by  any  man 
of  his  time.  Nor  was  his  knowledge  limited 
to  local  traditions.  He  was  well  versed  in 
New  England  history  and  in  the  history  of 


BYRON  DIM  AX.  5 

the  Mother  country,  especially  daring-  the  Com- 
monwealth. He  was  scarcely  ever  at  fault  in 
any  statement  of  fact.  A  lighter  side  of  his 
character  was  shown  in  his  fondness  for  dra- 
matic literature  and  the  English  poets  of  the 
last  century.  In  his  younger  days  he  had  cul- 
tivated a  talent  for  amateur  acting,  and  his 
recitations  were  uncommonly  effective.  ...  Of 
other  more  purely  personal  traits  we  may  not 
here  so  freely  speak,  —  of  the  unvarying  sweet- 
ness of  temper,  the  open  hospitality,  the  benev- 
olence that  never  turned  away  from  the  claims 
of  the  destitute,  the  unwearied  good  offices  that 
so  much  endeared  him  as  neighbor  and  friend. 
He  leaves  not  an  enemy  behind,  and,  to  quote 
the  words  of  one  who  has  often  opposed  him 
in  the  stormy  field  of  politics,  '  He  leaves  be- 
hind him  not  one  who  in  his  lifetime  has  done 
so  many  kindly  acts.'  " 

He  was  for  three  years  lieutenant-governor, 
and  in  1846  was  elected  governor  of  Rhode 
Island.  He  married  Abby  Alden  Wight, 
daughter  of  the  minister  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Church,  who  "  served  as  surgeon  in  the 
Revolutionary  war,  and  practiced  both  profes- 
sions in  Bristol,  trying  to  save  the  bodies  as 
well  as  the  souls  of  his  people."  The  best 
blood  in   New  England   ran   in   this    family. 


6  MEMOIRS. 

Mrs.  Diman  was  seventh  in  descent  from  John 
Alden,  of  Mayflower  fame,  and  also  related 
to  the  Leonards.  Her  father's  family  came 
originally  from  the  Isle  of  Wight,  where,  in 
Carisbrook,  Cowes,  and  Rye,  memorials  of 
them  may  be  found.  Mrs.  Diman  was  the 
beauty  of  the  family,  a  woman  of  exquisite 
taste,  and  was  called  one  of  the  handsomest 
women  in  Rhode  Island.  "  She  was  a  thor- 
oughly truthful  person,  —  I  mean  in  the 
sense  of  never  appearing  to  be  what  she  was 
not,"  writes  her  daughter.  "  Exceedingly 
modest  and  retiring,  it  was  her  only  ambi- 
tion to  be  good  and  to  do  good.  While 
looking  well  to  the  ways  of  her  own  house- 
hold, she  was  also  most  active  in  relieving 
personally  the  wants  of  the  poor  and  suffer- 
ing. Her  presence  seemed  to  carry  a  benedic- 
tion with  it.  Though  extremely  delicate  in 
health,  with  a  buoyancy  of  spirit  and  cheer- 
fulness of  disposition  she  accomplished  a  great 
deal." 

Of  such  parents,  with  such  an  ancestry  of 
pure,  pious  people,  was  Jeremiah  Lewis  Diman 
born.  In  him  all  the  virtues  of  the  various 
lines  seemed  to  unite.  His  noble  bearing 
spoke  of  the  sturdy  Puritan ;  his  grace  of 
manner,  of  his  livelier  French  blood  ;  his  phil- 


EARLY  RECOLLECTIONS.  7 

osophic  mind  was  the  true  descendant  of  the 
first  American  philosopher  ;  his  tenderness,  of 
his  saintly  mother.  He  was  born  in  the  house 
standing  on  Hope  Street,  —  a  pleasant,  square 
house,  with  wide  hall  running  through  it, 
from  whose  western  windows  the  waters  of 
the  bay  can  be  seen.  "  As  soon  as  the  little 
fellow  could  walk  alone,"  writes  his  cousin, 
Miss  A.  F.  Alden,  "  he  climbed  the  garret 
stairs  each  morning  to  watch  the  King  Philip 
enter  the  harbor,  —  the  first  steamboat  that 
plied  between  Providence  and  Bristol.  He 
never  talked  much  about  his  pleasures,  and 
his  mother  did  not  discover  this  daily  pilgrim- 
age for  some  time."  With  what  playful  and 
tender  feeling  did  Mr.  Diman  write  of  this 
steamer  many  years  after  !  — 

"  The  King  Philip  —  shall  we  scruple  to 
avow  it  ?  —  is  linked  with  the  earliest  recollec- 
tions of  our  childhood.  Well  do  we  remem- 
ber how,  at  a  time  when  we  were  still  in  frocks, 
—  for  infancy  and  childhood,  gentle  reader, 
lasted  longer  in  those  days  than  now,  —  we 
used  to  wait  each  morning  to  catch  the  first 
ringing  of  her  silvery  bell  (the  odious  steam 
whistle  had  then  no  existence),  and,  climbing 
to  an  upper  window,  used  to  watch  her  bowl 
along,  rolling  huge  breakers  against  the  shore. 


8  MEMOIRS. 

Ruskin  tells  us  that  in  all  the  visible  creation 
there  is  no  one  object  that  yields  such  per- 
petual and  ever  fresh  delight  as  the  prow  of 
a  boat  cleaving  the  glassy  flood.  Ah,  with 
what  raptures  would  the  author  of  '  Modern 
Painters '  have  gazed  at  the  matchless  stem  of 
the  King  Philip  as  she  used  to  glide  of  a  calm 
summer  morning  into  Bristol  harbor  !  Has 
life,  think  you,  offered  the  lip  any  draught 
more  pure  and  satisfying  than  that  we  so  in- 
nocently tasted  ?  Let  thy  memory,  then,  ever 
be  kept  green,  friend  of  our  childhood,  never 
again,  alas,  to  delight  our  yearning  sight ! 

"  Last  summer,  by  kind  invitation  of  the 
owners,  we  were  of  the  large  excursion  party  in 
one  of  the  new  boats  that  ply  between  Bristol 
and  New  York.  Great  ado  has  been  made 
about  them,  and  wo  do  not  deny  that  they  are 
neat  affairs,  but  what  are  they  when  compared 
with  the  paragon  of  naval  architecture  that 
used  to  delight  our  childish  gaze  ?  With  what 
awe,  on  rare  occasions,  we  trod  the  narrow 
plank  that  afforded  access  to  her  deck  ;  with 
what  terror  we  surveyed  the  lower  depths, 
where  unclean  spirits  fed  the  roaring  furnace 
with  logs  of  pine ;  with  what  wonder  we  in- 
spected the  machinery  ;  with  what  reverence 
we   contemplated  that  model  of  fidelity  and 


CHILDHOOD.  9 

promptness,  the  rough  but  kind-hearted  Cap- 
tain Thomas  Borden,  as  he  stood  beside  the 
wheel  and  guided,  with  unerring  skill,  the 
obedient  monster  !  Somewhat  Dutch  she  was 
in  build,  with  her  broad  stern  and  swelling 
bow,  but  a  right  staunch  craft,  that  did  her 
duty  well  for  many  years.  But  our  blessings 
are  on  her  memory,  not  for  her  long  and  use- 
ful career,  but  for  the  unforgotten  joy  that 
she  used  to  bring  us  each  morning  so  many 
years  ago." 

Miss  Alden  writes  of  his  childhood,  saying 
he  always  spoke  of  it  as  a  singularly  happy 
one.  "  Yet  the  young  people  of  to-day,  look- 
ins'  for  a  more  vivid  life  and  varied  amuse- 
ments,  would  call  it  dull.  When  trusted  to 
go  abroad  alone,  a  frequent  pleasure  was  to 
visit  his  Diman  grandparents.  He  would  wan- 
der about  the  quiet  house,  where  they  were 
passing  a  lonely  old  age,  and  amuse  himself 
with  looking  at  the  miscellaneous  contents  of 
an  old-fashioned  attic,  especially  a  fine  model 
of  a  sailing  vessel.  Yet  he  was  not  unsocial ; 
he  played  with  other  boys,  and  was  always 
leader  in  every  sport.  Not  that  he  claimed 
preeminence,  or  that  they  consciously  yielded, 
but  both  parties  accepted  the  position  as  inevi- 
table ;  it  was  a  matter  of  course,  —  '  the  nat- 
ural way  of  living.' 


10    «  MEMOIRS. 

"  Lewis's  mother,  a  woman  of  rare  beauty 
of  person  and  of  character,  died  when  he  was 
twelve  years  old.  Her  sister,  Mrs.  Alden, 
was  with  her  during  the  lingering  illness,  and 
often  spoke  of  Lewis's  tender  thoughtf ulness ; 
'  it  would  have  been  remarkable,'  she  said, 
( in  a  girl,  much  more  so  in  a  boy.'  He 
would  sit  by  her  bedside  hour  after  hour,  qui- 
etly fanning  her,  or  talking  with  a  gentle 
cheerfulness  that  never  wearied  the  invalid. 

"  Lewis  always  studied  faithfully,  was  punc- 
tual, knew  his  lessons  perfectly,  yet  he  was 
not  what  is  called  a  precocious  boy.  His 
growth  was  that  of  a  young  oak-tree,  vigor- 
ous and  symmetrical,  and  '  without  observa- 
tion.' From  his  mother,  Lewis  inherited  a 
certain  delicacy  of  organization,  a  love  of  pu- 
rity, of  order,  of  exactness.  His  aunt  feared 
he  had  inherited  a  physical  delicacy  as  well. 
He  was  not  a  robust  lad ;  yet  he  enjoyed  out- 
door sports,  skated  well,  was  a  good  swimmer, 
took  long  walks,  —  in  short,  was  no  book- 
worm. Yet  his  happiest  hours  were  spent  in 
his  father's  library,  a  well-chosen  but  somewhat 
miscellaneous  collection.  As  he  came  in  from 
school  at  noon,  he  always  rushed  down  cellar 
to  get  an  apple,  then  to  the  library,  where  the 
pet  cat  was  awaiting  him ;  with  her  on  his 


CHILDHOOD  AND   YOUTH.  11 

knee,  he  ate  the  apple  and  read  the  morning 
paper  with  equal  zest.  This  beloved  cat  must 
have  a  passing  mention.  Her  name  was 
Minna  :  her  sister  Brenda  died  young,  and 
Lewis  and  little  Henry  took  great  pains  with 
the  funeral.  He  always  kept  a  pet  cat ;  the 
friends  of  his  manhood  remember  the  quaint 
names  he  found  for  them.  This  enjoyment 
of  feline  companionship  is  often  noted  in  schol- 
arly men. 

"  When  Lewis  was  yet  a  boy,  he  was  walk- 
ing along  a  wharf  one  day,  when  he  saw  a 
little  fellow  fishing,  who  lost  his  balance  and 
fell  into  the  water.  Lewis  threw  off  shoes  and 
jacket,  and  sprang  in  after  him.  With  much 
difficulty  he  managed  to  swim  to  shallow  water 
and  drag  the  child  up  on  shore ;  then  he  went 
home,  changed  his  clothes  and  said  nothing. 
A  few  days  afterwards,  a  woman  rushed  out  of 
a  house  he  was  passing  and  overwhelmed  him 
with  angry  reproaches  for  having  nearly  killed 
her  boy.  The  little  rascal  had  told  her  that 
Lewis  Diman  had  pushed  him  off  the  wharf, 
and  that  he  had  scrambled  out  himself  !  Lewis 
soon  guessed  that  the  boy  had  been  forbidden 
to  fish  there,  and  had  told  this  lie  to  escape 
punishment.  So  he  made  no  explanation,  and 
stood  silent  until  the  woman  exhausted  her 


-.  2  MEMOIRS. 

wrath.     In  after  years  he  told  the  story  as  an 

•   ~  ^ct-rnicp  of  ingratitude. 

was  writing  ^The  History  of  Bnstol     a^ 

rmblisW  it  in  the  weekly  paper.     Ihe  un 
.n      ng°-s,  in  itself,  remarkable  m  a  mere 
J?*      ..    °         '   so  the  careful  exactness  with 
which  it  was  ctrrfc-  f      The  town  rec0rds 

were  studied,  nothing  was  set,   .    i  „„   nn  i,  ^r. 
&  Ho^vn  on  n  ^v 

say,  so  that  this  history  may  be  reheu  xt  I  .-1  n 
as  authentic.  The  style  was  quiet  and  sim- 
ple, —  no  attempt  at  fine  writing,  such  as 
young  authors  often  indulge  in.  Those  were 
happy  years  of  quiet  and  yet  enthusiastic 
study.  Never  was  there  a  more  manly,  heal- 
thy nature,  free  from  all  morbid  feeling. 
When  he,  a  mere  youth,  made  a  public  profes- 
sion of  religion  in  the  Congregational  church 
at  Bristol,  R.  I.,  the  old  pastor,  who  had 
known  him  from  childhood,  asked  this  strange 
question  before  the  congregation  :  '  Do  you 
trust  for  acceptance  to  your  amiability  and 
your  remarkable  natural  qualities  ? '  Lewis 
raised  his  head  in  surprise,  and  simply  re- 
plied, '  I  did  not  know,  sir,  that  I  had  any 
such  qualities.'  Lewis's  aunt,  Mrs.  Alden, 
who  was  at  the  head  of  Governor  Diman's 
household  for  several  years,  often  said  that 


CHILDHOOD  AND    YOUTH.  13 

he  was  the  best  boy  in  the  world,  so  nice  in 
the  care  of  his  person  and  clothes,  punctual 
at  school,  prompt  to  fulfill  every  duty,  but  she 
did  not  realise  his  remarkable  intelligence,  so 
gradually  had  it  developed,  so  modest  was  his 
bearing.  However,  when  Mr.  Alden  returned 
to  Bristol  in  1844,  he  recognized  at  once  the 
lad's  unusual  ability.  Lewis  keenly  enjoyed 
hearing:  from  him  of  the  wonders  of  Florence 
and  Rome;  he  eagerly  availed  himself  of  his 
uncle's  excellent  library,  and  felt  the  stim- 
ulus of  contact  with  a  lover  of  learning,  and 
an  earnest  disciple  of  Christ.  In  after  years 
he  spoke  of  this  as  an  epoch  in  his  life,  a 
quickening  to  new  intellectual  and  spiritual 
growth.  Unhappily,  this  friendship  was  of 
short  duration  ;  Mr.  Alden  went  to  Pensacola, 
Fla.,  where  he  fell  a  victim  to  the  yellow-fever 
epidemic  of  1846.  Lewis  said  nothing  of  his 
sorrow  for  the  dead,  or  his  affection  for  the 
living,  but  he  was  more  tenderly  thoughtful 
than  ever  of  his  aunt  and  cousins. 

"  His  friendship  with  the  late  Robert  Rog- 
ers, of  Papoosesquaw,  was  a  part  of  Lewis's 
boyhood  which  must  not  be  omitted.  Mr. 
Rogers  lent  him  books,  and  many  a  winter 
evening  was  pleasantly  spent  in  discussing 
their   contents.     Lewis  counted  it  as  one  of 


14  MEMOIRS. 

the  felicities  of  his  life,  that  in  after  years 
he  could  pay  a  heartfelt  tribute  of  respect 
to  the  memory  of  his  friend,  at  the  dedica- 
tion of  the  Rogers  Free  Library,  in  Bristol. 

u  This  is  the  simple  account  of  an  unevent- 
ful and  happy  boyhood.  Of  Lewis,  as  of  the 
Master  whom  he  loved  to  follow,  it  may  be 
said,  'he  increased  in  wisdom  and  stature, 
and  in  favor  with  God  and  man.' ' 

To  these  recollections  of  his  childhood 
must  be  added  a  few  details  from  his  sis- 
ter. "  I  remember  well  the  first  time  he  was 
taken  to  school,"  she  says,  "  how  lustily  he 
cried  to  be  taken  home  and  would  not  go 
willingly  for  some  time.  A  short  time  after 
that,  I  can  recall  him  sitting  at  a  desk  in 
his  father's  library,  most  cordially  given  up 
to  him,  poring  over  his  lessons,  —  a  straight, 
slight  boy,  of  pale  complexion,  soft  dark 
eyes,  and  wearing  a  riband  around  his  head 
to  keep  his  long  light  hair  out  of  his  eyes 
while  studying.  He  was  a  great  favorite  and 
of  much  influence  with  his  playmates  ;  at 
one  time  running  a  little  post-office,  editing 
a  newspaper,  then  a  debating  club,  literary 
societies  of  different  kinds,  etc.  The  scene 
of  these  important  transactions  was  a  little 
bit  of  a  room  near  his  father's  back  steps. 


HOME   AMUSEMENTS.  15 

"  Many  a  homely  present  did  he  receive  from 
persons  employed  about  the  house,  to  whom 
he  was  always  thoughtful  and  polite.  He 
was  very  fond  of  pets,  and  would  incommode 
himself  to  any  degree  to  make  them  comfort- 
able. Very  ingenious  with  tools,  he  made 
many  a  toy  for  the  other  children.  The  rainy 
days  were  red-letter  days  in  the  old  house. 
Our  mother  would  devote  herself  to  us,  and 
enter  into  whatever  interested  us ;  hemming 
sails  for  the  boys'  boats,  dressing  dolls,  mak- 
ing one  of  the  little  audience  squeezed  into  a 
closet  to  see  a  magic  lantern,  and  giving  us  a 
better  lunch  than  usual.  I  know  that  it  was 
an  attractive  place,  from  the  number  of  neigh- 
bors' children  that  came  tramping  in,  much 
to  Polly's  disgust,  who  wished,  if  folks  had 
homes,  that  they  knew  enough  to  stay  in  them 
rainy  days." 

"He  was  a  bright,  healthy,  happy  boy," 
writes  an  old  schoolmate,  who  has  now  joined 
him,  "  better  prepared  with  his  lessons  than 
most  of  us,  but  always  ready  for  a  game  of 
ball,  a.  swim,  or  a  frolic.  In  all  those  years  I 
cannot  remember  seeing  him  angry.  In  fact, 
his  good  temper  was  sometimes  exasperating 
to  some  of  us,  of  more  explosive  tempera- 
ments ;  and  so  he  was  the  peacemaker  among 
us." 


16  MEMOIRS. 

Some  of  the  letters  delivered  through  the 
post-office  mentioned  still  remain.  The  fol- 
lowing notice  to  "  W.  De  Wolf,  Esq.,"  the 
school  friend  whose  words  were  last  quoted, 
is  reproduced  verbatim  —  the  date  is  early  in 
1842  :  — 

Deir  Sir  —  I  take  this  opportunity  to  in- 
form you  and  Earl  P.  Bowin,  that  L.  A. 
Bishop,  and  myself  have  been  recently  ap- 
pointed to  the  office  of  Post  Masters  in  this 
town,  and  shall  open  the  office  on  the  26  of 
this  month.  You  may  be  assured  that  the 
office  will  be  punctually  attended  to  by  my 
debuty.     Yours         J.  Lewis  Dima^  esq. 

Mr.  Diman  used  laughingly  to  recall  the 
beginning  of  this  friendship,  which  dated 
from  a  round  fisticuffs  and  bloody  noses  on 
both  sides. 

Of  his  recollections  of  the  old  meeting- 
house, since  changed  to  the  Normal  school, 
Mr.  Diman  said  in  his  address  on  that  occa- 
sion :  — 

Many  a  time,  before  ever  opening  the  pages 
of  Euclid,  had  he  solved  the  problem,  on  that 
centre-piece,  that  every  point  in  the  circum- 
ference was  equi-distant  from  the  centre. 
And  often,  too  often,  he  had  endeavored  in 
vain  to  determine,  by  counting  the  number  of 


HIS  "CALL."  17 

panes  of  glass  in  one  window,  and  multiplying 
by  the  number  of  windows,  how  many  panes 
there  were  in  the  house.  But  other,  and  more 
sacred  and  thrilling,  associations  made  this 
place  ever  dear  and  ever  venerated. 

One  story  remains  to  be  told,  which  gives 
the  key  to  his  whole  life  —  his  obedience  and 
fearlessness  in  the  performance  of  any  duty. 
One  summer  Sunday  afternoon,  before  he  was 
four  years  old,  he  was  taken  to  church,  and 
seated  near  the  door.  He  soon  espied  the 
family  pew,  where  the  other  children  were, 
and  tripped  quietly  up  the  aisle,  the  little 
light  head  invisible  above  the  tall  pews.  Just 
then  the  minister  announced  his  text  in  a 
loud  voice :  "  Jeremiah  vii.  chapter,  1st  and 
2d  verses :  The  word  that  came  to  Jeremiah 
from  the  Lord,  saying,  Stand  in  the  gate  of 
the  Lord's  house,  and  proclaim  there  this 
word,  and  say,  Hear  the  word  of  the  Lord." 
Thinking  he  was  the  Jeremiah  addressed,  the 
fearless  boy  walked  on,  and  mounted  the  pul- 
pit stairs.  There  he  paused,  and  turned  and 
faced  the  congregation,  his  golden  hair  mak- 
ing a  halo  about  his  head.  The  older  brother, 
who  came  to  bring  him  down,  whispered, 
"Where  were  you  going?"  "He  called 
me,"  answered  the  child.  And  the  people 
smiled,  and  remembered  it  long  afterward. 


CHAPTER  II. 

School.  —  Home  Influence.  —  First  Commonplace  Book.  — 
Enters  Brown  University,  1847.  —  College  Commonplace 
Books.  —  Historical  Reading.  —  Memoirs.  —  Poetry.  — 
Religious  Works.  —  Influence  of  Dr.  Wayland.  —  Unites 
with  the  First  Church  of  Bristol.  —  The  Year's  Reading. 
—  Careful  Habits.  —  Winter  of  1849-50.  —  Latin  and 
Greek.  —  English  Literature.  —  French.  —  Philosophy.  — 
Recollections  by  Professor  George  I.  Chace.  —  Recollec- 
tions by  Judge  H.  B.  Staples.  —  Butler's  Analogy.  —  Rec- 
ollections by  Professor  William  Gammell.  —  Recollections 
by  Professor  John  L.  Lincoln.  —  Letters.  —  To  Rowland 
Hazard.  —  To  James  O.  Murray. 

There  were  several  schools  in  Bristol  in 
the  days  of  Mr.  Diman's  boyhood,  one  of 
which  he  positively  refused  to  attend,  reach- 
ing home  again  before  his  father,  who  had 
taken  him  to  it. 

"  But,"  says  Mrs.  DeWolf,  "  as  I  look  back 
I  realize  how  much  more  we  learned  at  home 
than  at  school.  The  children  were  taught 
to  repeat  long  pieces  of  poetry,  and  the  best 
books  were  bought  for  tt^ir  home  reading. 
Governor  Diman's  conversation  was  unusually 
instructive,  and  he  was  never  happier  than 
when  surrounded  by  his  children,  answering 
their  eager  questions." 


ENTERS  BROWN   UNIVERSITY.  19 

In  such  a  home  the  intellectual  life  of  the 
children  could  not  but  be  fostered.  Mr.  Di- 
man  early  committed  his  thoughts  to  paper. 
A  little  note-book,  begun  when  he  was  only 
nine  years  old,  is  inscribed  with  his  name, 
J.  Lewis  Diman,  as  he  always  wrote  it,  and 
in  a  flourishing  boyish  hand,  "Aut  Caesar 
aut  nullus."  It  contains  comments  on  vari- 
ous home  matters  such  as  would  interest 
any  boy,  and  a  few  jingling  rhymes  of  his 
own  construction,  —  almost  his  only  efforts 
in  that  direction.  The  pamphlet,  of  about 
thirty  pages,  is  filled,  the  handwriting  grow- 
ing in  evenness  and  nicety  as  the  work  pro- 
ceeds. 

In  his  sixteenth  year  (1847)  he  entered 
Brown  University,  having  been  prepared  by 
the  Rev.  James  N.  Sykes,  and  took  the  first 
premium  for  Latin  Composition  in  his  en- 
trance examination.  His  ability  as  a  scholar 
was  immediately  recognized,  and  classmates 
and  professors  united  in  honoring  him.  In 
1848  he  began  a  commonplace  book,  which 
he  continued  throughout  his  college  course, 
and  which  furnishes  an  interesting  commen- 
tary upon  it.  These  two  volumes,  filled  with 
closely  written  pages,  each  extract  numbered, 
often  with  cross  references,  show  with  what 


20  MEMOIRS. 

thoroughness  and  care  he  did  his  reading. 
Many  of  the  extracts  so  completely  express 
his  own  opinions  and  beliefs,  that  were  the 
authors'  names  not  given  they  would  pass 
for  his  own  utterances.  So  thoroughly  did 
he  assimilate  these  books  that  they  became 
part  of  himself,  and  shaped  and  influenced 
his  whole  after  thinking  and  life.  Those 
who  have  heard  his  historical  lectures  will 
appreciate  how  thoroughly  he  believed  this 
sentence  of  Macaulay's,  Extract  No.  5  :  "  He 
alone  reads  history  aright  who,  observing  how 
powerfully  circumstances  influence  the  feel- 
ings and  affections  of  men,  how  often  vices 
pass  into  virtues  and  paradoxes  into  axioms, 
learns  to  distinguish  what  is  accidental  and 
transitory  in  human  nature  from  what  is  es- 
sential and  immutable."  Macaulay  and  d'Au- 
bigne  were  read  wTith  the  greatest  attention, 
as  is  proved  from  the  number  and  length  of 
the  extracts.  Most  of  the  well-known  sayings 
of  Luther,  —  such  as  "  The  true  well-being  of 
a  town,  its  security,  its  strength,  is  to  num- 
ber within  it  many  learned,  serious,  kind,  and 
well  -  educated  citizens,"  —  the  saying  about 
the  schoolmaster  and  music,  and  many  others, 
are  all  written  out  here.  In  Luther's  charac- 
ter he  seems  to  have  been  deeply  interested, 


COMMONPLACE  BOOK.  21 

as  the  extracts  from  D'Aubigne  relating  to 
him  are  arranged  to  form  almost  a  contin- 
uous narrative. 

Early  in  the  book  occur  these  lines  from 
Young,  which  would  well  summarize  his  own 
life:  — 

"  That  life  is  long  which  answers  life's  great  end, 
The  time  that  bears  no  fruit  deserves  no  name  ; 
The  man  of  wisdom  is  the  man  of  years." 

Lord  Chesterfield's  letters  seem  to  have  in- 
terested him,  and,  remembering  his  own  ease 
and  grace  in  society,  Avho  shall  say  that  this 
sentence  had  no  influence  :  "  Manners,  though 
the  last,  and  it  may  be  the  least  of  real  merit, 
are,  however,  far  from  being  useless.  .  .  . 
They  adorn  and  give  an  additional  force  and 
lustre  to  both  virtue  and  knowledge  :  they 
prepare  and  smooth  the  way  for  the  progress 
of  both,  and  are,  I  fear,  with  the  bulk  of 
mankind,  more  eno-ao-mof-  than  either." 

For  Memoirs  Mr.  Diman  always  had  great 
fondness,  and  the  commonplace  book  gives 
evidence  that  this  branch  of  reading  was  not 
neglected,  but  had  its  place  with  more  didactic 
studies.  The  life  of  Mrs.  Godolphin,  "  who 
amidst  all  the  corruptions  of  the  court  of 
Charles  II.  lived  a  most  pure  and  holy  life," 
and  of  Madame  Catherine   Andora,  he  writes 


22  MEMOIRS. 

about.  This  note  is  the  first  of  his  own,  giv- 
ing a  resume  in  a  few  words  of  the  lives  of 
these  women,  and  their  desire  to  enter  a  con- 
ventual life,  and  adding  this  significant  ques- 
tion :  "  Do  these  facts  rather  show,  that  the 
general  corruption  was  so  great  in  those  times 
as  to  prevent  a  Christian  from  living  with  any 
peace  in  the  world,  or  do  they  show  that  these 
persons  had  very  obscure  notions  of  their  du- 
ties to  the  world  as  Christians  ?  " 

It  is  impossible  to  turn  over  the  pages  of 
these  books  without  feeling  the  stir  and  life  of 
that  rich  young  mind.  Here  are  quotations, 
bearing  on  moral  questions,  on  holiness,  on 
the  uses  of  life,  and,  side  by  side  with  these 
spiritual  matters,  discussions  of  the  fine  arts, 
of  literature,  of  famous  men  and  women,  and, 
particularly,  of  history,  to  which  more  than  a 
third  of  the  extracts  relate.  "  The  remem- 
brance of  the  great  past,  the  knowledge  of  its 
occurrences  and  spirit,  is  the  only  thing  which 
can  furnish  us  with  a  fair  and  quiet  point  of 
view  from  which  to  survey  the  present."  All 
the  variations  on  this  theme  are  sounded,  from 
essayists  and  philosophers.  He  who  in  later 
life  did  so  much  for  the  education  of  women, 
makes  long  quotations  regarding  the  achieve- 
ments of  the  ladies   of  the  sixteenth  century. 


HISTORICAL   READING.  23 

Nothing  was  more  noticeable  throughout  his 
life  than  his  friendship  with  many  charming 
and  clever  women.  An  equal  friendship  it 
was,  without  frivolity,  and  his  respect  for 
woman's  mind,  capacity,  and  judgment,  is 
early  marked  in  these  extracts. 

Toward  the  middle  of  the  first  volume  a 
change  in  method  is  observable.  He  is  not 
content  with  simply  copying  a  passage  that 
strikes  him,  but  gives  the  context,  or  sums  up 
an  argument  in  his  own  words.  A  long-  note 
on  Mohammedanism  summarizes  his  reading 
on  the  subject  in  five  separate  works.  This 
note  is  divided,  and  subdivided  under  two 
heads,  and  written  in  most  clear  and  forcible 
style.  To  his  historical  reading  about  this 
time,  he  added  poetry,  especially  Shakespeare, 
and  Shelley.  Hamlet,  Two  Gentlemen  of  Ve- 
rona, and  the  Merchant  of  Venice,  were  care- 
fully studied.  For  Shelley  he  always  retained 
his  early  fondness  and  admiration. 

Works  of  a  distinctly  religious  character 
also  find  large  place.  Archbishop  Whately's 
Kingdom  of  Christ,  an  essay  of  D'Aubigne 
on  Lutheranism  and  Calvinism,  essays  from 
the  Edinburgh  Review,  and  Eclectic  Maga- 
zine, on  the  state  of  the  Catholic  Church,  on 
Presbyterianism   and    kindred    subjects,  were 


24  MEMOIRS. 

carefully  read  and  commented  upon.  His 
mind  was  apparently  turning  toward  the  min- 
istry, for  after  a  note  on  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bowie, 
who  spent  fourteen  years  in  preparing  a  com- 
mentary on  Don  Quixote,  occurs  this  remark  : 
"  One  might  imagine  that  a  clergyman  could 
find  other  duties  to  perform  besides  editing  a 
novel."  A  complete  analysis  of  the  Epistle  to 
the  Romans,  from  Home's  Introduction,  was 
copied  in  full.  Dr.  Channing's  Memoir  was 
read,  and  Bushnell  admired. 

About  this  time,  1848,  there  was  a  deep 
current  of  religious  feeling  in  college,  fostered 
and  encouraged  by  President  Wayland,  to 
whom  so  many  of  the  students  have  acknowl- 
edged their  debt  of  gratitude.  Mr.  Diman, 
writing  years  after,  of  the  master  he  never 
ceased  to  venerate,  speaks  from  his  own  ex- 
perience :  "  How  the  chapel  would  be  hushed 
with  the  stillness  of  death  at  the  Wednesday 
evening  prayer  meeting,  as  in  tremulous  ac- 
cents and  voice  sinking  into  a  whisper,  he 
would  dwell  on  the  dread  responsibilities  of 
the  soul !  There  was  never  any  cant  of  stereo- 
typed exhortation,  never  any  attempt  to  rouse 
any  superficial  emotion,  but  always  direct  ap- 
peal to  conscience,  and  to  all  the  highest  in- 
stincts of  youthful  hearts.     In  this  most  difn- 


INFLUENCE   OF  DR.    WAYLAND.  25 

cult  task  of  dealing  with  young  men,  at  the 
crisis  of  their  spiritual  history,  Dr.  Wayland 
was  unsurpassed.  How  wise  and  tender  his 
counsels  at  such  a  time  !  How  many,  who 
have  timidly  stolen  to  his  study  door,  their 
souls  burdened  with  strange  thoughts,  and 
bewildered  with  unaccustomed  questionings, 
remember  with  what  instant  appreciation  of 
their  errand  the  green  shade  was  lifted  from 
the  eye,  the  volume  thrown  aside,  and  with 
what  genuine  hearty  interest  the  whole  coun- 
tenance would  beam.  At  such  an  interview 
he  would  often  read  the  parable  of  the  return- 
ing prodigal,  and  who  that  heard  can  ever 
forget  the  pathos  with  which  he  would  dwell 
on  the  words."  l  There  were  long  talks,  and 
walks  with  some  of  his  older  student  friends  ; 
and  the  child  who  had  been  taken  "  into  an 
upper  chamber  by  his  mother  and  there  dedi- 
cated to  God,  to  be  used  in  his  service,  as  He 
saw  fit,"  now  grown  a  youth,  fulfilled  the 
early  promises,  and  made  profession  of  his 
faith  in  the  First  Church  of  Bristol. 

But  to  return  to  the  note-books.  His  year's 
reading  had  been  Guizot,  D'Aubigne,  Carlyle, 
and  Macaulay's  Essays  ;  three  or  four  volumes 
of  memoirs;  Dr.  Johnson's  Life  and  Works, 

1  The  late  President  Wayland.     Atlantic  Monthly,  Janu- 
ary, 1868. 


26  MEMOIRS. 

especially  the  "  Vanity  of  Human  Wishes," 
and  "  The  Adventurer  ;  "  sermons  by  several 
clergymen ;  Whately's  Kingdom  of  Christ ; 
and  for  poetry,  Spenser,  Shakespeare,  and 
Shelley.  On  these  books  there  are  one 
hundred  and  twenty-eight  notes,  eighty-nine 
closely-written  pages.  No  wonder  a  classmate 
says,  "  His  sophomoric  essays  were  not  the 
crude  inflated  productions  handed  in  by  most 
of  us ;  but  even  then  gave  evidence  of  matu- 
rity and  polish,  indicative  of  the  elegant 
scholarship  of  after  life." 

The  careful  habits  of  reading  formed  thus 
early  Mr.  Diman  always  retained.  The  j:>age 
and  chapter  are  noted  ;  if  it  is  poetry  the  very 
line  is  given,  as  in  this  note,  which  embodies 
his  own  belief  and  practice.  "  If  I  remember 
rightly,  Mr.  Whipple  in  his  remarks  upon  the 
nature  of  philosophical  criticism  observes,  that 
to  judge  rightly  one  must  participate  some- 
what in  the  feeling  of  the  author.  The  same 
idea  is  advanced  by  Pope,  Essay  on  Criticism, 
line  233,  etc. : 

'  A  perfect  judge  will  read  each  work  of  wit 
With  the  same  spirit  that  its  author  writ.'  " 

In  after  life  Mr.  Diman  used  to  amaze  peo- 
ple with  the  accuracy  of  his  knowledge  of 
books.     Here  we  see  by  what  careful  study 


INTEREST  IN  LATIN.  27 

that  knowledge  was  acquired,  for  though  the 
commonplace  books  were  only  kept  a  few 
years,  the  methods  of  reading  continued.  "  A 
book  is  of  no  use,"  he  would  say,  "  unless 
you  can  find  what  you  want  in  it." 

The  winter  of  1849-50  was  a  fruitful  one. 
His  Latin  reading,  with  Professor  Lincoln, 
seems  to  have  been  of  interest  to  him.  The 
commonplace  book  furnishes  extracts  from 
Cicero,  De  Natura  Deorum,  and  the  analy- 
sis of  the  Ars  Poetica,  by  Professor  Lincoln, 
is  copied  in  full.  The  Homeric  Question  also 
interested  him.  The  views  of  conflicting  au- 
thorities on  the  probability  of  the  Iliad  and 
the  Odyssey  being  the  work  of  the  same  man, 
are  carefully  collated.  This  essay  of  eight 
pages  seems  to  be  a  resume  of  several  of  Pro- 
fessor Boise's  lectures. 

In  English  literature  there  is  an  analysis 
of  the  first  book  of  Spenser's  Faerie  Queene, 
the  story  of  each  canto  told  in  a  short  para- 
graph. "  The  Defence  of  Poesy,"  Burke's 
Essays,  Grote's  History  of  Greece,  and  Guizot 
in  French,  are  among  the  books  of  the  year. 
But  Philosophy  now  demanded  a  large  place. 
Cousin's  Psychology  and  Kant  began  to  be 
studied.  It  is  of  this  period  that  Professor 
George  I.  Chace  wrote,  only  a  few  weeks  be- 
fore his  death  : 


28  MEMOIRS. 

"  My  attention  was  not  especially  drawn  to 
him  till  the  middle  of  his  third  year.  I  had 
previously  had  charge  of  his  class  in  only  one 
or  two  of  the  physical  sciences.  Although 
he  made  honorable  attainments  in  them,  and 
passed  most  creditably  his  examinations,  I  do 
not  think  his  tastes  and  aptitudes  lay  particu- 
larly in  that  direction. 

"  In  the  winter  of  1849-50  I  was  asked  by 
him,  with  several  other  members  of  his  class, 
if  I  would  allow  them  to  meet  at  my  private 
room  one  evening  every  week,  to  pursue  under 
my  guidance  certain  metaphysical  inquiries  in 
which  they  felt  a  personal  interest.  As  they 
were  all  earnest  young  men,  of  ingenious  and 
bright  minds,  I  most  willingly,  as  may  be  sup- 
posed, granted  their  request.  Bishop  Butler's 
'  Analogy  of  Natural  and  Revealed  Religion 
to  the  Constitution  and  Course  of  Nature' 
was  chosen  by  them  for  reading  and  study, 
not  so  much  as  an  authority,  as  because  it 
treated  of  questions  of  the  highest  practical 
moment,  which  they  were  desirous  of  settling 
for  themselves." 

"  I  remember  that  we  sat  in  the  dark.  We 
imagined  we  could  think  more  abstractedly 
in  the  dark,"  writes  Judge  Staples. 

"  It  was  at  the  meetings  of  this  voluntary 


PHILOSOPHICAL   STUDIES.  29 

class,"  continues  Prof.  Chace,  "  that  I  first  be- 
came aware  of  the  metaphysical  acumen  of 
Mr.  Diinan,  of  his  power  of  analyzing  complex 
conceptions,  his  sagacity  in  weighing  the  data 
yielded  by  such  analysis,  and  his  skill  in  em- 
ploying this  data  whether  in  building  up 
arguments,  or  for  the  purposes  of  destructive 
criticism." 

The  note-book  contains  an  elaborate  analy- 
sis of  the  "  Philosophy  of  Immanuel  Kant," 
and  also  notes  on  the  natural  proofs  of  the 
immortality  of  the  soul,  a  condensation,  ap- 
parently, of  the  studies  of  the  private  class 
with  Professor  Chace.  The  "  Phsedo "  of 
Plato  is  reviewed,  and  Bishop  Butler's  argu- 
ment given  at  length,  and  commented  upon. 

"  Butler  ended  in  leaving  out  of  his  argu- 
ment  the  moral  nature  of  man  and  his  ca- 
pacity for  improvement.  He  also  failed  to 
perceive  that  the  real  question  at  issue  is  not 
whether  the  soul  be  naturally  or  essentially 
immortal,  but  whether  He  who  formed  the 
soul  designs  to  continue  it  forever  in  being-." 

So  the  last  years  in  college  went  on.  Dr. 
Arnold's  "  Lectures  on  Modern  History  "  were 
read,  more  of  Carlyle,  and  various  discourses 
and  essays. 

Mr.  William  Gammell,  writing  of  Mr.  Di- 
man's  college  life,  says  :  — 


30  MEMOIRS. 

"  The  room  in  which  he  lived  was  very 
near  my  own,  and,  according  to  the  rules  then 
existing,  this  fact  placed  him  particularly  un- 
der my  official  oversight  and  care,  from  the 
very  beginning  of  his  residence.  He  con- 
tinued to  occupy  the  same  room,  I  think,  so 
long  as  he  remained  a  student,  so  that  my 
official  relation  to  him  in  this  respect  con- 
tinued for  four  years.  My  personal  interest 
in  him  was  awakened  very  early  after  his  res- 
idence began,  by  the  fact  that  he  was  taken 
ill  of  typhoid  fever,  a  malady  which  is  always 
regarded  with  anxiety  in  a  college.  The  case, 
however,  proved  not  to  be  serious,  but  I  re- 
member very  well  that  his  father  and  some 
members  of  his  family  came  to  watch  over 
him. 

"  It  was  in  the  middle  of  his  second  year 
in  college  that  he  came  under  my  instruction 
in  studies  and  exercises  pertaining  to  rhetoric 
and  English  literature.  This  was  a  part  of 
the  college  curriculum  in  which  he  was  special- 
ly fitted  to  excel,  for  it  was  in  accordance 
with  the  tastes  and  biases  of  his  mind.  He 
gave  a  ready  and  studious  attention  to  all 
the  appointed  work,  and,  in  addition,  he  read 
extensively  and  carefully  the  works  of  such 
authors  as  were  commended  to  the  study  of 


COLLEGE  LIFE.  31 

the  class.  I  remember  that  he  often  came  to 
me  for  special  advice  as  to  the  books  he 
should  read,  and  as  to  the  sources  of  informa- 
tion relating  to  their  authors.  His  literary 
exercises  were  always  prepared  with  more  than 
usual  care,  and  he  early  acquired  the  rudi- 
ments of  that  direct  and  lucid  English  style, 
of  which  he  afterwards  became  an  acknowl- 
edged master.  The  study  of  modern  history, 
also  had,  a  few  years  before,  become  connected 
with  that  of  English  literature,  though  it  had 
not  then  been  made  a  separate  department  of 
instruction  in  any  American  college.  To  this 
new  study  Mr.  Diman  devoted  himself  with 
an  interest,  and  assiduity,  that  unquestionably 
performed  their  part  in  preparing  him  for  the 
pursuits,  to  which  his  later  years  were  so  use- 
fully and  honorably  devoted.  Much  of  the 
work  thus  done  was  wholly  voluntary  on  the 
part  of  those  who  were  engaged  in  it,  and  I 
well  remember  that  Mr.  Diman  and  many  oth- 
ers of  the  class  of  1851  performed  this  volun- 
tary work  in  a  manner,  and  with  a  spirit,  which 
did  much  to  hasten  the  creation  of  the  sep- 
arate department  of  history  and  political  econ- 
omy, that  was  very  soon  afterwards  called  into 
existence.  He  graduated  with  distinguished 
rank    in  his  class,  and  spoke   at    Commence- 


32  MEMOIRS. 

ment  the  Classical  Oration,  the  subject  being 
'  The  Living  Principle  of  Literature.'  He 
thus  closed  his  college  residence,  and  bore 
away  with  him  a  manly  character,  a  scholarly 
spirit,  and  an  intellectual  and  spiritual  culture 
which  afforded  the  best  possible  presage  of 
a  career  of  usefulness  and  honor." 

To  the  recollections  of  Mr.  Gammell,  Pro- 
fessor John  L.  Lincoln  adds  his  remembrance 
of  Mr.  Diman's  classical  studies. 

"  He  was  in  my  Latin  class  during  the 
whole  of  the  Freshman  year,  and  then  for 
two  terms  of  the  Sophomore  and  two  of  the 
Junior  year.  He  was  well  prepared  for  col- 
lege, especially  in  Greek,  and  for  excellence 
in  this  study  he  won  the  second  of  the  l  Pres- 
ident's Premiums.'  In  Latin  he  did  not  reach 
very  high  rank  the  first  term,  nor  did  he  early 
in  the  course  show  signs  of  remarkable  quick- 
ness or  facility  of  attainment,  or  make  very 
rapid  progress.  But,  from  the  beginning,  he 
had  a  studious,  earnest  manner,  and  a  way 
of  settling  down  to  a  thing  to  be  done,  and 
a  quiet  persistence  in  doing  it  well,  and  in  a 
well  ordered  method.  I  think  of  him  as  being 
in  those  days  intelligent  and  thoughtful  rather 
than  brilliant,  or  ambitious  of  being  thought 
brilliant ;  but  he  was  emulous  of  excellence, 


CLASSICAL   STUDIES.  33 

though  not  impatient  about  winning  it.  I 
have  looked  up  his  record  since  I  began  to 
write,  and  I  see  that  he  always  went  forward, 
never  backward ;  his  progress  was  steady  and 
continuous,  and  at  the  end  he  reached  nearly 
the  maximum  mark  of  attainment.  He  had 
no  special  aptitude  for  the  philological,  or, 
as  we  say  now,  the  scientific  side,  of  classical 
studies,  but  yet  he  was  apt  in  seeking  and 
getting  the  sense  of  a  passage,  and  the  real 
meaning  of  the  author,  and  in  apprehending 
and  feeling  the  force  of  his  words,  and  dis- 
covering the  qualities  of  his  style,  and  his 
merits  as  a  thinker,  and  a  writer.  I  do  not 
remember  that  he  showed  a  preference  for 
particular  writers,  or  for  either  poets  or  prose 
writers ;  but  he  was  sensitive  to  whatever  was 
good  in  all  good  letters,  to  whatever  was  beau- 
tiful and  noble  in  sentiment  or  expression,  or 
valuable  in  knowledge,  especially  in  such 
knowledge  of  human  nature,  and  human  life, 
as  belongs  to  all  genuine  literature.  His  style 
of  recitation  was  scholarly,  such  as  is  the  out- 
come of  a  studious  spirit  and  habit ;  the  ap- 
prehension of  the  thought,  and  the  correct- 
ness or  felicity  of  expression,  in  the  rendering 
of  a  passage,  came  quite  as  much  from  habitual 
effort  and  practice,  as  from  fortunate  natural 


34  MEMOIRS. 

endowments.  It  was  by  assiduous  application 
that  he  made  his  daily  studies  means  of  his 
culture,  and  of  these  studies  the  Greek  and 
the  Latin  doubtless  contributed  an  important 
share  of  educating  influence.  Probably  my 
conversations  with  him  in  later  years  suggest 
this  last  remark,  quite  as  much  as  my  remem- 
brances of  him  as  an  under-graduate  student. 
In  one  of  the  latest  of  these  conversations,  he 
spoke  of  the  peculiarities  of  Juvenal  as  a  satir- 
ist, and,  much  to  my  surprise,  quoted  a  pas- 
sage from  a  college  lecture  on  that  poet,  which 
I  might  have  naturally  supposed  he  had  long 
forgotten.  In  what  I  have  now  said  I  have 
spoken  of  those  college  studies  of  Professor 
Diman  of  which  I  had  more  direct  knowl- 
edge ;  there  was,  however,  so  far  as  I  remem- 
ber, no  indication  that  they  might  ever  be- 
come with  him  professional  studies,  or  directly 
determine  the  profession  which  he  would 
choose.  The  same  may  be  said,  indeed,  of 
other  studies,  as  intellectual  and  moral  phi- 
losophy, in  which  he  excelled  in  college,  and 
even  of  historical  studies,  in  which  he  after- 
wards rose  to  such  marked  distinction.  But 
it  may  be  said  with  certainty,  that  while  he 
attained  high  rank  in  all  departments  of  the 
college  course,  yet  his  prevailing  tastes  and 


LETTERS.  35 

tendencies,  as  well  as  his  best  work,  showed 
themselves  in  literary  rather  than  in  scientific 
studies ;  and  at  his  graduation,  when  upon  the 
Commencement  stage  he  delivered  the  Classi- 
cal Oration  on  '  The  Living  Principle  of  Lit- 
erature,' it  was  clear  enough  that,  whatever 
might  be  his  professional  pursuits,  he  would 
be  distinguished  as  a  literary  man." 

A  few  letters  of  this  period  complete  the 
story  of  those  college  days,  so  far  as  it  is 
possible  to  tell  it.  "  He  was  not  a  very  good 
correspondent,"  writes  President  J.  B.  Angell, 
to  whom  he  wrote  more  letters  than  to  any  of 
his  friends,  "  that  is,  he  did  not  write  often, 
and  his  letters  were  brief.  He  seldom  opened, 
in  letters,  into  those  rich  veins  to  which  con- 
fidential conversation  led  him.  There  was 
often  a  bright  touch  of  his  quaint  humor,  but 
he  rarely  discussed  questions." 

The  first  letter  bears  the  date  of  Bristol, 
December  14,  1849,  a  simple  note  accepting  a 
Christmas  invitation  to  Narrag-ansett. 

o 

"  Over  a  turkey  fattened  upon  grasshoppers 
alone,  we  shall  possess  peculiar  advantages 
for  discussing  the  long-vexed  question,  relative 
to  the  real  existence  of  matter.  You  remem- 
ber I  used  to  be  more  than  half  a  convert  to 
vour  views ;  I  must  confess  however  that  an 


36  MEMOIRS. 

unlucky  blow  which  my  nasal  prominence  re- 
ceived last  summer,  nearly  put  my  skepticism 
to  flight." 

To  the  same  friend,  Rowland  Hazard,  he 
writes :  — 

Bristol,  February  27,  1851. 

Now  that  there  is  so  much  agitation  here 
on  the  subject  of  slavery,  I  should  like  ex- 
ceedingly to  see  the  practical  workings  of  it 
for  myself.  Are  your  own  impressions  made 
any  more  favorable  by  your  Southern  tour  ? 
It  seems  to  me  that  the  feeling  at  the  North 
must  grow  stronger,  and  stronger,  every  day. 
All  sensible  men,  of  course,  repudiate  any  re- 
sistance to  the  laws,  but  whenever  any  new 
fugitive  is  arrested  to  be  carried  back  to  bond- 
age, they  feel  more  and  more  disgusted  with 
a  system  which  requires  such  measures  for  its 
support.  An  effort  was  made  in  our  legisla- 
ture a  few  days  ago,  to  pass  a  resolution  di- 
recting the  attorney-general  to  defend  at  the 
cost  of  the  State,  any  person  who  might  be 
arrested  on  charge  of  being  a  fugitive  slave, 
but  it  did  not  succeed. 

I  often  think,  my  dear  R.,  of  the  times 
when  we  used  to  meet  together  in  our  college 
prayer  meetings,  and  they  seem  to  me  doubly 
dear,  now  that  I  am  about  to  be  deprived  of 


LETTER    TO  J.    O.   MURRAY.  37 

theni.  I  can  hardly  realize  that  after  one 
more  term  is  passed,  my  college  days  will  be 
ended.  Like  yourself  I  constantly  experience 
the  sorrowful  reflection,  that  I  have  done  but 
little  in  the  cause  of  my  Redeemer.  It  is 
now  just  three  years,  since  I  arrived  at  my 
determination  to  give  up  all  for  Christ,  and  I 
feel  as  I  look  back  upon  them,  that  I  have  mis- 
erably failed  in  accomplishing  what  I  proposed 
to  myself  at  that  time.  The  bitterest  reflec- 
tion of  all  is,  too,  that  I  continue  on  in  the 
same  course,  in  spite  of  perpetual  vows  to  do 
better.  I  have  been  trying  of  late,  more  and 
more  to  realize  that  I  can  do  nothing  of  my- 
self, but  only  in  humble  dependence  upon  the 
Holy  Spirit.  I  think  that  I  have  felt  more 
enduring  satisfaction,  since  I  formed  the  reso-„ 
lution  to  fit  myself  for  the  ministry,  and  I  ear- 
nestly hope  that  the  thought  that  I  am  so 
soon  to  enter  upon  this  sacred  calling,  may 
constantly  work  in  me  a  stronger  desire  to 
conform  more  perfectly  to  the  will  of  God. 

TO    JAMES    O.    MURRAY. 

Providence,  March  23,  1851. 
I   have   hastened    this   evening  to   get,   or 
rather    glance    at,    my   German,   and   am   re- 
solved to  devote  what  remains  of  it  to  you. 


38  MEMOIRS. 

I  have  really  been  so  much  occupied  for  the 
past  two  weeks,  that  the  calls  of  friendship 
have  all  been  unheeded.  When  you  hear 
what  I  have  been  about,  you  will  excuse  me, 
I  know.  You  see  (to  let  you  into  something 
which  you  have  no  business  to  know  anything 
about),  we  have  been  having  a  little  bit  of 
sport  in  the  Brothers  Society.  For  some 
time  past,  the  interest  of  the  members  has 
been  sensibly  on  the  decrease,  and  many  were 
dilatory  about  responding  to  the  treasurer's 
calls,  and  we  thought  that,  on  the  whole,  it 
was  best  to  have  a  little  stirring  up.  So  at 
the  meeting  held  a  fortnight  ago  last  Saturday 
a  committee  was  appointed,  of  which  your 
humble  servant  was  the  chairman,  to  inquire 
into  the  condition  of  the  society,  and  report 
on  the  same.  Well,  last  Saturday  we  brought 
in  a  report  commenting  very  severely  on  the 
recent  debates,  ridiculing  the  questions  sub- 
mitted for  discussion,  complaining  of  the  non- 
attendance  of  members,  and  urgently  calling 
for  more  vigorous  enforcement  of  the  laws. 
After  a  spirited  debate,  a  resolution  was  car- 
ried, that  all  who  owed  anything  to  the  society, 
who  should  not  pay  before  the  next  regular 
meeting,  should  on  that  day  be  expelled,  and 
an  amendment  to  the  constitution  was  also 


LAST   TERM  IN  COLLEGE.  39 

introduced,  which  provided  that  hereafter  all 
who  should  suffer  the  debts  incurred  during 
one  term,  to  remain  unpaid  till  the  close  of 
the  succeeding  term,  should  also  be  expelled. 
We  confidently  anticipate  that  in  the  course 
of  the  coming  fortnight  the  money  bags  of 
the  United  Brothers  Society  will  wonderfully 
enlarge.  Now,  when  I  inform  you,  my  dear 
fellow,  that  the  aforesaid  report  occupied 
some  twenty-three  closely  written  pages  of 
letter-paper,  whereof  your  friend  wrote  almost 
the  whole,  you  will  see  how  it  happened  that 
I  was  too  much  occupied  to  be  able  to  answer 
your  letter.   .   .   . 

I  am  getting  on  in  the  most  agreeable 
manner  with  my  last  term.  It  is  not  quite  as 
easy  as  the  last  term  used  to  be,  when  the 
ancients  of  your  day  were  in  college.  I  dare 
say  your  eyes  will  open  when  you  hear  what 
studies  I  have  selected.  German,  Moral 
Philosophy,  and  Astronomy !  Do  not,  how- 
ever, let  me  entreat  of  you,  conjure  up  any 
fond  recollections  of  Norton,  at  least  as  you 
had  him,  bound  in  sheep.  Happier  than  you, 
instead  of  the  cold  and  lifeless  volume,  we 
have  the  living  and  speaking  man.  But  the 
best  thing  of  all  is,  that  we  have  no  co-sines 
and  co-tangents,  but  the  lectures  are  almost 


« 
40  MEMOIRS. 

purely  descriptive.  Occasionally  the  old 
Adam  will  show  itself,  but  not  often.  Under 
the  Doctor  we  have  been  rather  trenching 
upon  the  studies  of  the  middle  year,  i.  e.,  dis- 
covering depravity,  and  the  origin  of  sin. 
We  both  recite  from  the  text-book  and  take 
down  lectures.  As  the  latter  not  unfrequently 
conflict  with,  and  demolish  the  former,  it  is 
sometimes  difficult  to  keep  the  two  apart.  I 
think  that  the  Doctor  is  rather  ambiguous  in 
expressing  his  views  relative  to  depravity,  in- 
deed most  of  us  could  make  nothing  very 
definite  out  of  what  he  said.  Enough  was 
said  however,  it  seemed  to  me,  to  indicate 
that  his  opinions  are  very  different  from  the 
old-fashioned  New  England  views  on  the  sub- 
ject, yet,  so  far  as  I  could  see,  correct.  In- 
deed I  have  often  thought  that  there  is  no 
man  whose  system  of  theology  I  could  more 
readily  undertake  to  swallow,  than  Dr.  Way- 
land's.  He  seems,  least  of  all  men,  run  in  the 
mould  of  any  particular  school. 

Talking  of  theology  reminds  me  that  I  have 
something  that  I  wish  very  much  to  speak  to 
you  about.  After  I  wrote  you  last,  I  went 
down  to  Newport  to  see  Mr.  Thayer.  He 
was  very  urgent  in  the  request  that  I  should 
come  and  stay  with  him  a  year,  before  going 


PLAN  OF  STUDY.  41 

to  Andover.  He  proposed  that  I  should  give 
my  attention  to  Philosophy  and  German,  in 
both  of  which  he  is  abundantly  qualified  to 
teach  me.  I  confess  the  plan  was  sufficiently 
inviting  to  stagger  my  previous  arrangements. 
After  going  home  I  consulted  father,  and 
found  that  he  would  much  prefer  that  I 
should  devote  some  additional  time  to  study 
before  going  to  Andover.  However,  nothing 
has  been  decided  upon  yet.  When  you  are 
here  we  will  discuss  the  whole  matter. 


CHAPTER  m. 

1851-1853.    aet.  20-22. 

Graduation  from  Brown  University.  —  Newport.  —  Letters  to 
James  B.  Angell.  —  Study.  —  Practical  "Duties.  —  Distrust 
of  Seminary  Life.  —  Congregationalism.  —  Family  Prayers. 

—  Bible  Class.  —  Asylum.  —  A  Minister's  Life.  —  Andover. 

—  Plan  of  Study  Abroad.  —  Difficulties.  —  Studies.  —  Rec- 
ollections by  Dr.  James  Gardiner  Yose,  and  Dr.  Leonard 
Woolsey  Bacon. 

At  Commencement,  1851,  Mr.  Diman  was 
graduated  from  Brown  University,  pronoun- 
cing* the  Classical  Oration.  He  then  went  to 
Newport  to  continue  his  studies  according  to 
the  plan  mentioned  to  Mr.  Murray.  His  let- 
ters give  a  full  account  of  his  work  and  expe- 
riences. 

TO    JAMES    B.    ANGELL. 

Newport,  October  15,  1851. 

It  was  quite  refreshing  to  hear  another 
speak  of  being  lonely  and  homesick,  as  that 
had  been  the  burden  of  my  own  song  for 
some  days  after  I  came  here.  I  had  not  a 
single  companion  here  of  my  own  sex,  with 
the  exception  of  B.,  and  for  a  little  while  the 
time  dragged  heavily.     But  the  Dominie  soon 


STUDIES  IN  NEWPORT.  43 

gave  me  a  specific,  which  effectually  relieved 
me  of  all  such  indisposition.  I  came  here 
Saturday,  September  13,  and  before  six  o'clock 
on  the  ensuing  Monday  morning,  as  I  was 
cosily  looking  at  the  sun  from  beneath  the 
bedclothes,  I  was  startled  by  a  deep  voice 
calling  out  in  three  or  four  different  languages 
in  rapid  succession  something  which,  even 
with  my  slight  philological  acquirements,  I 
had  little  difficulty  in  translating  into  a  some- 
what summary  invitation  to  get  up.  I  found 
myself  pitched  in  medias  res  immediately. 

You  ask  what  I  am  doing.  Well,  to  begin. 
The  study  I  give  most  attention  to  on  the 
whole  is  German.  Besides  writing  exercises, 
I  am  reading  a  theological  treatise  on  the 
"  Christian  Doctrine  of  Sin,"  by  Dr.  Julius 
Mliller  of  Halle.  It  is  exceedingly  difficult, 
and  I  am  very  much  afraid  I  do  not  grasp  the 
whole  of  it.  It  requires  rather  a  more  exten- 
sive knowledge  of  theological  opinions  than  I 
yet  possess.  However,  I  hope  by  careful  re- 
views to  make  it  out.  With  how  much  more 
zeal  one  can  take  hold  of  a  thing  when  not 
wearied  by  the  insufferable  tedium  of  a  recita- 
tion-room !  The  object  of  the  Dominie  in 
selecting  such  a  book  was  the  sooner  to  make 
me  acquainted  with  the  theological  dialect,  so 


44  MEMOIRS. 

that  wiieix  x  &r>  f  0  the  Seminary  my  knowledge 
of  the  language  can  be  mado  immediately 
available.  On  other  accounts  it  would  ha»v 
been  pleasanter,  perhaps,  to  have  read  works 
of  a  different  character. 

The  rest  of  my  time  is  devoted  to  Philoso- 
phy. I  am  reading  Ritter's  History  of  An- 
cient Philosophy,  and  have  nearly  completed 
the  first  volume.  The  account  of  the  early 
Grecian  sects  is  rather  dry  in  itself,  but  is  of 
course  essential  in  order  to  obtain  a  complete 
view  of  the  whole  progress  of  development. 
It  is  curious  to  notice  how  in  the  earliest  ages 
the  human  mind  commenced  busying  itself 
about  the  same  problems  which  perplex  it  even 
yet.  The  most  specious  phase  of  modern  skep- 
ticism, Pantheism,  was  taught  years  ago  on  the 
banks  of  the  Indus,  and  I  have  just  been  read- 
ing this  evening  an  account  of  the  speculations 
of  one  of  the  early  Greek  philosophers  on  the 
origin  of  the  human  race,  which  seem  almost 
identical  with  those  advanced  by  the  author 
of  the  "  Vestig-es  of  Creation."  How  the 
human  mind  treads  round  an  eternal  circle  of 
skepticism  and  error,  when  unillumined  by  the 
light  of  revelation  !  I  do  not  see  how  we  can 
compare  with  a  candid  mind  the  ancient  my- 
thologies and  philosophies  with  the  Bible,  and 


PHILOSOPHY  AND   THEOLOGY.  45 

have  a  doubt  as  to  its  divine  origin.  The 
relation  of  philosophy  to  theology,  is  so  close 
that  I  expect  my  present  studies  will  be  of  es- 
sential service  to  me  hereafter.  I  look  for- 
ward with  especial  interest  to  an  examination 
of  the  influence  exerted  by  the  later  Grecian 
sects,  in  the  formation  and  development  of 
Christian  doctrine. 

One  day  in  the  week  I  give  exclusively  to 
Greek.  I  am  reading  the  "  Birds  "  of  Aristoph- 
anes, and  enjoy  it  highly.  If  I  could  have 
had  the  drilling  four  years  ago  that  I  have 
now,  I  might  have  made  a  tolerable  Greek 
scholar.  As  it  is,  I  feel  at  times  half  inclined 
to  disavow  any  acquaintance  with  the  language 
whatever. 

But  perhaps  of  more  importance  than  all 
these  is  the  practical  knowledge  I  hope  to 
gain,  during  my  residence  here,  of  those  duties 
which  will  hereafter  devolve  upon  me.  I  have 
a  fair  chance  here  to  study  the  discourage- 
ments and  supports  of  the  Christian  minister, 
and  you  will  readily  believe  me  when  I  tell 
you,  that  though  there  are  many  trials,  both 
around  and  within  one,  yet  the  life  of  a  faith- 
ful pastor  never  seemed  to  me  so  inviting  as 
it  does  at  this  moment.  But  I  have  seen 
enough  to  show  me  how  true  is  the  saying  of 


46  MEMOIRS. 

old  Andrew  Fuller,  that  "  preaching  is  glori- 
ous as  a  profession,  but  most  wretched  as  a 
trade."  The  consecration  to  the  service  of 
God  must  be  entire.  I  trust  that  my  retired 
life  here  will  have  the  effect  to  withdraw  my 
mind  more  entirely  from  secular  things.  I 
was  glad  to  hear  that  you  were  so  pleasantly 
situated  in  this  respect,  that  you  had  such 
favorable  opportunities  for  the  exercise  of 
your  Christian  activity.  Do  you  not  sadly 
miss  the  spiritual  advantages  which  college 
life  used  to  afford  ?  I  find  nowhere  here  that 
ready  sympathy,  and  that  frank  interchange 
of  sentiment  and  feeling.  I  can  never  forget, 
my  dear  J — ,  your  faithfulness  to  me  in  the 
hour  of  my  deepest  need  ;  for  to  you,  more 
than  to  any  other  human  being,  I  trace  those 
influences  which  have  made  me  what  I  am. 

Newport,  November  16,  1851. 

...  A  prominent  reason  which  led  me  to 
pass  this  year  with  Mr.  Thayer  was  that  I 
might  become  acquainted  a  little  with  the 
practical,  as  well  as  the  theoretical,  or  rather 
the  scholastic  side  of  my  profession.  I  must 
confess  that  the  slight  acquaintance  I  had 
formed  with  theological  students,  and  the 
little  I  saw  of  their  life  when  I  visited  Murray 


PRACTICAL  DUTIES.  47 

(at  Anclover)  last  winter,  did  not  entirely  sat- 
isfy me  with  the  cast  of  character  that  a  Sem- 
inary develops.  Preaching  seemed  too  much 
with  many  of  them  a  profession,  and  too  little 
a  life.  But  experience  has  taught  me  that  it 
is  a  very  different  thing  to  study  Christianity 
as  a  beautiful  system  of  morality,  and  to  feel 
it  in  the  heart.  I  begin  to  set  less  and  less 
value  on  the  intellectual  element,  when  com- 
pared with  the  spiritual.  A  humble,  prayer- 
ful spirit  is  a  better  preparation  for  the  pul- 
pit than  a  whole  army  of  commentators.  But 
the  intellectual  ferment  of  a  Seminary,  and 
the  almost  total  absence  of  practical  duties, 
seemed  to  foster  one  of  these  elements  to  the 
almost  entire  exclusion  of  the  other.  Accord- 
ingly, when  I  came  here,  it  was  with  the  un- 
derstanding that  I  was  to  be  brought  in 
contact  with  practical  duties,  and  be  made 
somewhat  acquainted  with  the  every-day  trials 
and  labors  of  a  pastor's  life.  So  far  as  the 
latter  indeed  are  concerned,  my  knowledge 
has  been  in  the  main  derived  from  intercourse 
of  the  most  familiar  kind  with  Mr.  Thayer, 
but  I  trust  I  have  learned  some  good  lessons. 
I  have  learned,  at  least,  that  he  who  would 
enter  the  gospel  ministry,  with  the  hope  of 
deriving  any  comfort  from  the  performance  of 


48  MEMOIRS. 

its  duties,  must  do  so  with  the  most  entire 
consecration  of  all  his  motives  and  impulses 
to  Christ,  and  with  the  most  utter  forgetf  ul- 
ness  of  self.  It  may  seem  hardly  necessary 
for  one  about  to  enter  so  humble  a  calling,  so 
far  as  all  outward  appearances  are  concerned, 
as  the  ministry,  to  guard  himself  against  am- 
bition, but  I  have  been  taught  that  the  failing 
is  more  common  than  is  generally  supposed. 
The  very  tendency  of  Congregationalism  so 
strongly  to  develop  the  individual  is  in  many 
respects'  a  most  unhappy  one,  so  far  as  the 
ministry  is  concerned ;  it  is  so  apt  to  result  in 
lionizing,  in  producing  the  pestiferous  race  of 
what  are  termed  "popular  preachers." 

But  some  of  the  best  influences  that  I  have 
been  brought  in  contact  with,  have  arisen  from 
the  little  practical  duties  that  have  at  times  de- 
volved upon  me.  Of  these  not  the  least  is  tak- 
ing part  in  family  worship.  Often,  when  the 
Dominie  and  Mr.  Ried  happen  to  be  away  or 
engaged,  it  devolves  upon  me  to  officiate,  and 
I  need  not  tell  you  that  it  is  a  very  delightful 
exercise.  It  takes  the  place,  more  than  any- 
thing else,  of  our  old  college  prayer-meetings. 
To  be  sure  there  is  the  weekly  prayer-meeting 
of  the  church,  but  it  is  apt  to  be  a  little  cold 
and   formal,    and  besides,   I  am   so   slightly 


ASYLUM  SERVICE.  49 

acquainted  with  most  of  those  present  that  I 
naturally  do  not  feel  so  much  interested.  Be- 
sides this,  I  have  a  fine  Bible-class  of  boys. 
We  are  at  present  engaged  upon  Hebrews.  I 
have  felt  somewhat  discouraged  for  two  or 
three  Sundays  back,  as  it  has  been  very  stormy 
and  the  attendance  was  rather  small,  but  to- 
day I  had  a  capital  time,  and  begin  to  feel 
quite  encouraged  again.  But  the  thing  after 
all  most  novel  to  me,  and  perhaps  the  most 
beneficial  of  anything  I  have  undertaken,  has 
been  conducting  religious  services  on  Sundays 
at  the  Asylum  on  Coaster's  Island.  There 
are  about  seventy-five  inmates,  and  usually  one 
of  the  clergy  of  the  town  officiates,  but  some- 
times it  happens  that  none  of  them  can  go, 
and  then  they  call  upon  the  lay  brethren.  I 
have  been  twice.  The  services  are  shnilar  to 
those  in  ordinary  congregations.  I  wish  I 
had  space  to  describe  to  you  the  motley  audi- 
ence. There  are  every  age,  sex,  and  color  — 
the  lunatic,  the  vagrant,  the  strumpet,  and 
the  drunkard ;  yet  among  them  there  are 
some  sad  and  serious  countenances,  men  to 
whom  it  is  a  pleasure  to  talk,  because  they 
make  it  an  earnest  business  to  listen.  How 
wonderfully  the  Gospel  adapts  itself  to  their 
condition  !    The  poor  broken-hearted,  despised 


50  MEMOIRS. 

inmates  of  a  poor-house  can  see  in  it  a  richness 
and  depth  that  the  rich  and  happy  have  never 
felt.  Is  it  not  pleasanter  to  preach  to  paupers 
than  to  a  fashionable  congregation  ? 

Bristol,  R.  I.,  September  7,  1852. 

...  I  was  much  interested  in  your  esti- 
mate of  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of 
European  travel,  and  I  shall  wish  to  converse 
with  you  at  length  upon  the  subject  after 
your  return,  for  I  have  not  yet  relinquished 
all  the  day-dreams  that  you  and  I  used  to 
build  so  pleasantly  together.  I  am  especially 
anxious  to  ascertain  as  nearly  as  possible  how 
much  benefit  may  be  derived  from  a  year  or 
two's  residence  abroad  for  the  purpose  of 
study,  after  one  has  gone  through  with  a 
course  at  home.  I  finished  my  studies  at 
Newport  about  a  month  ago,  and  on  the 
whole  think  I  have  reason  to  be  satisfied  with 
the  results  of  my  year's  labor.  Mr.  Thayer 
was  very  desirous  that  I  should  remain  with 
him  another  year,  but  for  several  reasons  I 
thought  it  best  to  proceed  to  the  Seminary 
this  fall.  Though  I  was  very  pleasantly  situ- 
ated in  Newport  in  every  respect,  yet  I  felt 
exceedingly  the  need  of  some  associates  of 
my  own  age  and  of  congenial  tastes.     On  this 


A   MINISTER'S  LIFE.  51 

account  I  look  forward  with  much  pleasure  to 
meeting  Murray  and  other  friends  at  Andover 
next  month.  I  used  formerly  to  have  many 
visions  of  the  advantages  of  solitary  retreats, 
and  secluded  "  cloistered  halls,"  for  the  pur- 
poses of  study,  but  after  a  year's  experience  I 
have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  man  is  a 
decidedly  social  animal. 

You  can  readily  conjecture,  my  dear  J — , 
that  much  can  be  learned  during  a  year's  resi- 
dence in  a  pastor's  family,  besides  that  to  be 
obtained  from  books.  Indeed,  as  I  review  the 
past  year,  I  am  far  from  ascribing  the  highest 
importance  to  my  mere  literary  acquisitions. 
I  trust  that  I  have  learned  that  a  minister 
needs,  for  the  successful  prosecution  of  his 
work,  far  other  and  higher  preparation.  To 
me  the  hardest  thing  about  a  minister's  life  is, 
that  in  consequence  of  the  high  and  sacred 
nature  of  the  duties  he  is  called  to  perform,  a 
sanctity  and  holiness  is  attached  to  his  char- 
acter which  he  is  always  conscious  that  he 
does  not  possess  ;  and  while  his  convictions 
of  right  force  him  at  all  times  to  denounce 
all  Pharisaical  affectations  of  superior  piety,  he 
feels  condemned  in  his  own  heart  of  seeming 
better  than  he  is.  How  little  the  world  esti- 
mates the  real  trials  and  difficulties  of  a  min- 


52  MEMOIRS. 

ister's  life  !  How  mean  and  paltry  would 
seem  the  worldly  sacrifices  and  privations, 
were  he  only  buoyed  up  by  the  conviction 
that  he  was  worthy  to  be  a  guide  to  others, 
and  to  tread  in  the  footsteps  of  the  Apostles ! 
I  have  never  had  such  conviction  of  my  own 
un worthiness  to  be  a  minister  as  during*-  the 
past  winter,  and  sometimes  I  have  almost  felt 
like  giving  it  up.  I  have  been  so  discouraged 
by  my  slow  progress  in  holiness,  by  my  re- 
peated relapses  into  coldness  and  indifference 
to  the  truth.  But  such  feelings  I  know  are 
wrong,  and  I  ought  to  struggle  against  them. 
If  I  did  my  duty  every  day,  I  should  not  be 
troubled  with  them.  This  makes  me  feel 
impatient  to  be  in  a  position  where  I  shall  be 
engaged  in  direct  personal  Christian  labors. 

Andover,  November  2,  1852. 

.  .  .  When  I  wrote  to  you,  if  I  remember, 
I  spoke  somewhat  about  coming  to  Andover, 
and  my  feelings  in  regard  to  it.  Well,  here 
I  am  at  last,  and  from  an  experience  of  a 
couple  of  weeks  feel  prepared  to  say  some- 
thing;  about  it.  You  remember  that  I  had 
some  doubts  and  fears.  I  rejoice  to  say  that 
they  are  being  rapidly  dissipated.  Thus  far 
all  my  impressions  of  Seminary  life  have  been 


ANDOVER.  53 

of  the  most  delightful  and,  I  trust,  profitable 
character,  and  I  only  regret  that  you  are  not 
here  to  enjoy  them  with  me.  How  happy 
could  we  be  could  we  but  renew  that  familiar 
intercourse  which,  to  me  at  least,  was  fraught 
with  unnumbered  blessings  !   .   .   . 

I  have  found  in  the  Seminary  a  much 
greater  degree  of  spirituality  than  I  had  been 
prepared  to  expect.  Perhaps  my  last  year's 
life  of  solitude,  and  exclusion  from  the  social 
communion  to  which  I  was  so  much  accus- 
tomed in  college,  leads  me  to  estimate  it  dif- 
ferently from  what  I  otherwise  should  have 
done,  but  I  cannot  help  feeling  myself  better 
every  day  by  being  brought  in  contact  with 
such  an  atmosphere.  I  feel  more  encourage- 
ment in  view  of  what  will  devolve  upon  me 
hereafter,  and  above  all  I  have  felt  myself  in 
closer  communion  with  my  Saviour  than  for 
many  months.  And  I  hope  and  pray  that 
my  life  here  may  be  a  continuation  of  the 
same  glad  experiences. 

We  are  now  fairly  embarked  upon  the 
studies  of  the  term.  In  Hebrew  we  are  under 
the  instruction  of  Prof.  Barrows,  who  is  said 
as  a  teacher  to  be  inferior  to  none  in  the 
United  States.  In  the  Greek  we  are  com- 
mitted to  Prof.  Stowe,  husband  of  the  world- 


54  MEMOIRS. 

renowned  authoress  of  "  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin." 
Hebrew  is  a  terribly  uncouth  language  at  first 
acquaintance,  but  I  cannot  help  thinking  that 
when  we  become  tolerably  familiar  with  it,  it 
must  prove  extremely  interesting.  It  is  so  fresh 
and  new,  and  so  unlike  all  our  Occidental 
tongues,  and  withal  it  is  so  rich  in  magnificent 
imagery  that  it  cannot  fail  to  reward  a  good 
deal  of  labor.  And  then,  too,  a  knowledge  of 
it  will  disclose  so  many  new  beauties  in  the 
sacred  writings. 

So  far  as  personal  matters  are  concerned  I 
am  very  pleasantly  situated  indeed.  I  room 
with  Bancroft,1  whom,  upon  closer  acquaint- 
ance, I  have  learned  to  esteem  very  highly. 
Our  room  is  a  very  nice  one,  and  is  very 
neatly  furnished,  and  besides  is  just  opposite 
to  Anthony2  and  Durfee,3  and  in  the  same 
entry  with  Murray4  and  Allen.5  So  you  see 
that,  so  far  as  worldly  comforts  are  concerned, 
I  could  not  be  better  off.  Indeed,  if  you 
could  peep  in  upon  us  at  the  present  moment, 
and  see  us  sitting  by  an  open  fire,  with  a 
bright  solar  lamp  shedding  its  rays  around 
the  room,  you  would  say  that  we  were  the 
very  picture  of  comfort. 

1  Dr.  Lucius  Bancroft.  2  Rev.  George  N.  Anthony. 

8  Rev.  Simeon  B.  Durfee.        4  Rev.  James  O.  Murray. 
6  Rev.  George  E.  Allen. 


FIRST   YEAR   OF  SEMINARY  LIFE.        55 
Andover,  April  4,  1853. 

...  I  came  very  near  crossing  the  water  a 
little  while  a^o,  though  I  fear  I  should  not 
have  been  able  to  make  you  a  visit.  A  party 
of  friends  sailed  three  weeks  ago  for  a  six 
months'  tour,  and  I  was  strongly  tempted  to 
join  them.  It  would  have  caused  such  a  seri- 
ous interruption,  however,  to  my  studies,  and, 
moreover,  have  defeated  my  plans  of  studying 
abroad,  that  I  was  compelled  to  give  up  the 
plan.  ...  I  did  not  go  with  them  mainly 
because  I  have  been  thinking  more  and  more 
seriously  of  late  of  leaving  the  Seminary  at 
the  end  of  the  second  year,  and  going  abroad 
for  a  year  and  a  half,  and  then  coming  back 
and  graduating  with  the  next  class  below.  I 
shall  be  governed  very  much  by  your  opin- 
ion, and  that  of  a  friend  who  will  be  back 
here  in  about  a  month.  I  cannot  help  view- 
ing the  question  with  a  good  deal  of  anxiety, 
as  it  will  affect  so  much,  for  good  or  bad,  my 
future  usefulness.  We  will  talk  it  all  over 
next  fall. 

In  two  weeks  the  present  term  will  close, 
and  my  first  year  of  Seminary  life  will  be  nearly 
at  an  end.  With  some  drawbacks  it  has  been 
a  happy  one.  I  have  enjoyed  myself  of  late 
in  the  renewal  of  scenes  which  have  carried 


56  MEMOIRS. 

my  mind  back  to  five  years  ago.  There  has 
been  a  revival  among-  the  students  of  the 
academy,  where  I  have  a  large  Sunday-school 
class.  I  have  derived  much  benefit  from  the 
few  earnest  conversations  I  have  had  with 
those  whose  souls  were  yearning  for  the  truth. 
It  was  a  kind  of  food  that  I  had  been  in  need 
of  for  a  long  time.  I  hear  on  every  side  con- 
versations among  those  who  are  soon  to  leave 
the  Seminary,  which  remind  me  constantly 
that  my  time  will  come  before  long.  As  the 
time  approaches  my  heart  almost  draws  back 
from  such  manifold  and  mighty  responsibili- 
ties. Indeed,  when  years  ago  you  and  I  used 
to  talk  the  subject  over,  could  I  have  seen  all 
the  difficulties  which  have  now  presented 
themselves,  I  almost  fear  that  I  should  not 
have  made  the  decision  that  I  did.  I  should 
like  it  much  better  if  you  were  to  be  with  me. 
Would  n't  it  be  nice  if  we  could  only  have 
adjoining  parishes?  I  have  just  been  reading 
a  little  book  called  "Shady  Side,"  a  story 
which  gives  the  darker  phases  of  pastoral  life, 
and  it  may  be  that  that  has  affected  my  views 
a  little.  One  of  the  students  here  told  me 
that  if  he  had  read  it  while  in  the  academy, 
he  would  have  given  up  all  thoughts  of  the 
ministry.     But  I  know  this  is  a  wrong  view 


ENGLISH  DIVINES.  57 

to  take  of  it.  There  must  be  much  self- 
denial,  and  silent  uncomplaining  toil,  in  any 
post  where  one  faithfully  and  resolutely  car- 
ries into  practice  the  doctrines  of  his  faith, 
and  I  doubt  not  that  the  reward  is  only 
sweeter  for  having  been  earned  by  such  costly 
sacrifices. 

I  envy  you  the  study  of  Goethe.  I  was 
quite  enraptured  with  what  little  knowledge  I 
obtained  of  Schiller  last  winter.  This  winter 
I  have  had  little  to  relieve  the  dry,  dull  mo- 
notony of  my  class  studies.  One  could  hardly 
fly  off  in  raptures  over  Hebrew  Grammar  and 
Exegesis. 

The  author  I  have  learned  most  from  the 
past  winter  is  Coleridge,  whose  writings  and 
views  generally  I  am  beginning  to  fancy 
hugely.  I  have  been  reading  of  late  Henry 
More,  a  divine  of  the  age  of  Charles  Second, 
who  resembles  Coleridge  in  many  respects. 
Let  me  whisper  in  your  ear  that  I  greatly 
prefer  the  old  English  divines  to  the  hair- 
splitting theologians  of  New  England.  But 
more  of  this  one  of  these  days.   .   .   . 

The  Rev.  James  Gardiner  Vose  adds  these 
recollections  of  Seminary  life  :  — 

"  At  Andover  T  found  the  graduates  of 
Brown  University  taking  a  very  high  rank. 


58  MEMOIRS. 

In  fact  I  had  known  very  little  of  the  college 
before,  and  was  somewhat  surprised  at  what  I 
there  learned.  Professor  Park  was  then  in 
the  freshness  and  brilliancy  of  his  lecturing 
career,  and  his  Alma  Mater,  of  course,  ac- 
quired a  lustre  in  our  eyes  from  the  fascina- 
tion of  his  eloquence.  But  the  students 
whom  I  learned  most  to  admire  were  nearly 
all  of  them  Brown  University  men :  Professor 
Fisher,  who  was  then  a  resident  graduate  at 
the  Seminary,  Professor  Murray  of  Princeton, 
Dr.  Lucius  Bancroft  of  Brooklyn,  whom  I 
associate  with  Diman  in  his  rooming  with  him 
a  little  while,  and  others,  such  as  Dr.  Atwood 
of  Salem,  and  two  who  are  not  living,  —  Pro- 
fessor Clarendon  Waite  and  Rev.  G.  N.  An- 
thony. The  best  of  the  Seminary  seemed  to 
be  from  Brown  University,  and  I  have  always 
regarded  it  as  one  of  the  greatest  blessings  of 
my  life  that  I  knew  these  men  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  their  friendship.  Many  were  the 
discussions,  serious  and  otherwise,  in  which 
we  took  part,  and  if  it  be  true,  as  I  believe, 
that  a  man  learns  more  from  his  companions 
than  from  his  teachers,  certainly  I  owe  a 
great  and  never-to-be-forgotten  debt  to  the 
friends  of  my  youth.  The  Rhode  Island 
boys  were  not   only  proud   of  their  college, 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  SEMINARY  LIFE.     59 

but  quite  disposed  to  take  up  the  cudgels  in 
lively  contests  as  to  its  merits,  and  those  of 
the  little  State  they  came  from.  Diman  was 
especially  loyal,  and  I  can  bring  before  me 
his  look  and  manner,  as  he  gave  thrusts  and 
parried  them  in  her  defense.  But  my  first 
impressions  of  Diman,  which  never  wholly 
wore  off,  even  in  the  most  familiar  inter- 
course, were  those  of  a  very  reserved  and 
serious-minded  man.  As  a  student  he  was 
unusually  quiet  and  thoughtful.  He  carried 
with  him,  even  in  those  early  days,  a  certain 
loftiness  of  manner,  a  self-poise  and  dignity, 
that  were  beyond  his  years.  His  features 
were  finely  cut,  and  more  than  one  person  has 
remarked  his  striking  likeness  to  the  well- 
known  bust  of  the  young  Augustus,  especially 
in  profile.  In  our  student  days,  both  at  home 
and  abroad,  when  we  all  lived  in  the  plainest 
and  most  inexpensive  way,  there  was  some- 
thing about  Diman  that  befitted  a  man  of 
rank  and  distinction,  and  never  failed  to  com- 
mand respect." 

"  It  was  before  Andover  had  been  discov- 
ered by  the  architects,"  writes  Dr.  Leonard 
W.  Bacon.  "  The  school  of  the  prophets  was 
a  dismal  broadside  of  brick  barracks,  and  the 
broad   horizon   about  the   Seminary  hill  was 


60  MEMOIRS. 

only  a  partial  compensation  for  the  bleakness 
of  the  exposure.  It  cannot  be  denied  that 
there  was  something  in  the  tone  of  the  theo- 
logical discussion  (notwithstanding  the  great 
ability  of  some  of  the  faculty)  that  was  con- 
gruous with  the  surroundings.  New  England 
theology  was  at  that  time  only  beginning  to 
emerge  from  its  mediaeval  scholastic  period, 
and  in  the  lecture-rooms  they  were  still  thresh- 
ing away  at  the  chaff  of  the  old  pettifogging 
debates  about  fate  and  free-will.  I  shudder 
to  think  what  my  two  years  at  Andover  would 
have  been,  but  for  my  happy  association  with 
a  knot  of  fellow-students  whose  '  society  was 
an  education  '  as  well  as  a  delight.  The  heart 
of  this  little  coterie  was  from  Brown  Univer- 
sity, and  the  heart  of  the  heart  was  Lewis 
Diman.  Beside  much  high  discourse  on  the- 
ological and  philosophical  themes,  there  was 
amongst  us  a  certain  amount  of  '  giggling  and 
making  giggle,'  in  which  I  must  have  had  my 
share,  for  I  remember  Diman's  saying  to  me 
long  years  afterwards,  '  I  believe  you  saved 
my  life  that  year  we  were  at  Andover  together ; 
I  should  have  died  of  dreariness  if  you  had  n't 
been  there  to  make  me  laugh.' 

"  Diman  was  always  hunting  through  unex- 
plored alcoves  of  the  noble  library  at  Andover. 


SEMINARY  LIFE.  61 

For  a  while  the  '  Lettres  curieuses  et  edifiantes ' 
of  the  Jesuit  missionaries  had  a  great  fasci- 
nation for  him.  It  was  very  characteristic  of 
his  historical  genius,  that  while  reading  in 
these  old  journals  of  missionary  zeal  and  de- 
votion, of  the  discovery  of  the  ancient  monu- 
ment of  Singan-fu,  he  should  collate  the 
record  with  the  ancient  history  of  the  Nestorian 
church  on  the  one  hand,  and  with  the  daily 
newspaper  on  the  other,  then  teeming  with 
strange  stories  of  the  rebellion  in  China.  The 
result  of  this  little  by-play  of  his  studies  was 
the  striking  article  on  i  Early  Christianity  in 
China,'  which  he  gave  me  to  send  to  the 
'  New  Englander,'  and  which  appeared  in 
November,  1853.  His  previous  article  in  the 
same  Review,  on  '  Dr.  Grant  and  the  Mountain 
Nestorians,'  showed  how  little  his  keen  critical 
and  satirical  insight  availed  to  check  the  glow 
of  a  generous  enthusiasm. 

"  I  saw  very  little  of  Diman  after  I  left  the 
Seminary ;  but  I  have  questioned  sometimes 
whether  those  who  knew  him  in  the  fullness 
of  his  learning,  and  the  ripeness  of  his  powers, 
were  so  very  much  to  be  envied  by  those  who 
remember  the  grace  and  beauty,  and  splendid 
promise  of  his  youth." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

1854-1855.    aet.  23-24. 

Sailed  for  Europe.  —  Bremen.  —  Brunswick.  —  Halle.  — 
Professor  Tholuek.  —  Matriculation.  —  Erdmann's  Ad- 
dress.—  Calls  on  Professors. —  Lectures,  Twenty  a  Week. — 
Tholuek  as  a  Preacher.  —  Midler  as  a  Lecturer.  —  Conver- 
sation with  Tholuek.  —  "  Old  Year's  Day."  —  Letter  to  his 
Father.  —  Mine.  Leo.  —  Farewell  to  Halle.  —  Recollections 
by  Rev.  C.  C.  Tiffany. 

In  accordance  with  the  plan  mentioned  in 
the  previous  letters,  Mr.  Diman  sailed  for  Eu- 
rope August  12,  1854,  when  the  first  entry 
in  the  foreign  journal  occurs. 

"At  12  o'clock  sailed  in  the  Herman,  Father 
and  Henry  on  the  wharf.  At  three  passed 
Sandy  Hook,  dropped  the  pilot,  and  stood  off 
to  sea.  Ate  a  good  dinner,  feeling  some  un- 
certainty whether  I  should  soon  have  that 
happiness  again. 

"Aug.  13.  Woke  with  a  composed  mind, 
but  had  much  disagreeable  reflection  while 
dressing.  In  consequence  felt  some  reluctance 
to  go  to  the  breakfast-table,  so  took  my  coffee 
on  deck.  Had  a  controversy  about  Christian- 
ity with  Mr.  D.,  a  disciple  of  Feuerbach.    Was 


OCEAN  VOYAGE.  63 

supported  by  an  unknown  ally  of  good  ap- 
pearance, and  apparently  highly  educated. 

"Aug.  23.  A  beautiful  day  ;  wrote,  read, 
and  talked.  Heartily  tired  of  the  monotony 
of  sea  life.  No  romance  at  all.  The  ocean 
has  disappointed  me.  Think  that  to  enjoy 
the  ocean  one  must  look  at  it  from  the  land. 
The  narrow  range  of  vision  makes  it  seem 
quite  small." 

On  August  24th  the  monotony  of  the  voy- 
age was  broken  by  a  collision  with  a  large 
bark,  the  Raindeer.  The  steamer  lay  by  her 
all  night.  "  Remained  on  deck  two  hours ; 
in  consequence  took  cold. 

"Aug.  25.  After  a  sleepless  night  got  a  lit- 
tle nap  in  the  morning.  Woke  with  a  severe 
pain  in  right  side.  Rose,  but  was  compelled 
to  lie  down  again.  Doctor  came  and  pro- 
nounced it  pleurisy.  Compelled  to  lie  on  my 
back  all  day,  and  consequently  did  not  see  the 
Scilly  Isles  and  Land's  End.  We  had  the 
bark  in  tow  all  day.  T.  (his  companion  and 
fellow-student)  was  very  kind  and  attentive, 
and  was  worth  a  ship-load  of  doctors.  Heard 
that  they  had  an  exciting  day  with  the  bark. 
We  left  her  next  morning  at  Falmouth.  By 
night  I  felt  much  relieved.  Under  ordinary 
circumstances  I  should  have  regarded  my  ac- 


64  MEMOIRS. 

commodations  as  rather  limited,  but  as  I  could 
not  move  without  pain,  I  found  my  domain 
quite  large  enough.  Rather  odd  that  my 
only  sick  day  was  one  of  the  most  agreeable 
to  me  that  I  passed  on  board." 

So  the  voyage  continued.  The  27th  they 
lay  off  the  Isle  of  Wight,  and  heard  the  chimes 
from  shore. 

"  Aug.  28.  All  day  in  the  North  Sea.  No 
land  in  sight.  The  dullest  and  most  disagree- 
able day  of  the  voyage.  In  the  evening  played 
my  last  game  of  bagatelle  with  P.,  and  retired 
to  my  berth,  thankful  that  it  was  the  last  time 
I  should  have  to  clamber  to  that  elevated  rest- 
ing-place." 

They  landed  at  Bremen  August  29. 

"  My  ocean  voyage  is  ended.  It  was  a  long 
cherished  and  bright  dream,  the  romance  of 
many  years.  The  reality  was  a  disappoint- 
ment. On  a  retrospect  I  can  recall  no  hour 
of  hearty  enjoyment  upon  the  passage.  I 
formed  many  acquaintances,  but  not  one  friend- 
ship, and  I  left  those  with  whom  I  had  lived 
for  sixteen  days  without  a  single  regret." 

From  Bremen  the  students  went  to  Han- 
over, and  September  1st  arrived  in  Brunswick. 

"  Called  at  the  Sack's.  Struck  with  the 
outside  of  the  house  built  in  1590.     Stands 


BRUNSWICK.  65 

in  a  quiet  square,  close  by  the  Domkirche. 
Found  that  they  only  expected  me,  but  agreed 
to  take  us  both.  Pleased  with  our  rooms,  and 
especially  with  our  kind  reception.  Heartily 
rejoiced  to  have  a  place  once  more  that  I  can 
call  home.  After  tea  the  engravings  of  Provi- 
dence, which  Angell  had  sent,  were  brought 
out,  and  I  explained  all  the  localities.  Found 
that  we  could  speak  German  enough  to  under- 
stand and  make  ourselves  understood,  though 
it  was  very  fatiguing  work.  Agnes  is  to  be 
our  teacher.  The  rest  of  the  family  consist 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sack,  and  Therese." 

In  this  pleasant  German  home,  in  the 
quaint  old  city,  the  two  students  remained  five 
weeks,  sharing  in  the  family  life,  seeing  all 
there  was  to  be  seen,  and  improving  daily  in 
their  German.  The  Rathhaus,  and  Palace,  the 
Cathedral,  and  the  courts  were  visited.  A 
German  christening  is  described. 

"  Sunday,  Sept.  10.  In  the  afternoon  Wil- 
helm  Sack's  child  was  baptized  in  the  Dom- 
kirche. Very  curious  spectacle.  We  all  as- 
sembled first  up-stairs,  and  had  many  greet- 
ings, etc.  Went  to  the  church,  and  in  a 
room  at  the  south  transept  found  a  minister 
standing-  before  a  table  on  which  were  two 
large  candles.     Before  him  a  small  table  and 


66  MEMOIRS. 

basin  of  warm  water.  The  service  was  long, 
and  to  me  unimpressive.  At  the  conclusion 
many  congratulations  again,  as  if  it  were  a 
wedding.  I  was  introduced  to  the  minister. 
Afterwards  saw  in  the  church  the  celebrated 
biblical  critic  Tischendorf.  We  came  back 
to  the  house  and  had  a  merry  time  in  the 
evening.  The  baby's  health  was  proposed  by 
the  god-father  and  drunk  with  hearty  good- 
will. 

"  Sej)t.  22.  This  evening  attended  an  exam- 
ination in  the  school  where  Agnes  is  teacher, 
and  was  exceedingly  interested.  The  pupils 
were  all  girls,  from  eight  to  fourteen.  The 
exercises  commenced  with  singing,  after  which 
followed  a  short  prayer.  The  children  were 
then  examined  in  the  fundamental  doctrines 
of  religion  by  a  pastor,  in  a  very  familiar, 
fatherly  way.  The  answers  were  prompt,  and 
evinced  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  the 
subject.  They  were  then  examined  by  differ- 
ent gentlemen  in  geography,  history,  and 
arithmetic.  Essays  were  read,  and  short  pieces 
of  poetry  were  recited  in  French  and  English, 
the  latter  very  creditable  indeed.  There  were 
also  some  recitations  in  German.  With  some 
songs,  well  sung  of  course,  the  exercises  closed. 
I  was  especially  impressed  with  the  happy, 
good-natured  faces  of  the  children." 


BRUNSWICK  TO  HALLE.  67 

The  stay  in  Brunswick  was  broken  by  a 
walking  excursion  up  the  Brocken,  making  the 
ascent  in  seven  hours.  "  I  carried  two  carpet 
bags  and  an  umbrella,  and  most  of  the  way 
had  Therese  on  my  arm.  The  rain  set  in 
soon  after  our  arrival,  so  of  course  nothing 
was  to  be  seen  of  the  fine  prospect  from  the 
top."  The  walk  back  the  next  day  was  very 
beautiful,  and  they  returned,  heartily  pleased 
with  the  excursion. 

"Oct.  7.  To-day  we  bid  good-by  to  Bruns- 
wick, after  a  stay  of  five  very  pleasant  weeks. 
The  family  seemed  very  much  to  regret  our 
departure,  and  exhibited  evident  signs  of  grief 
when  we  presented  them  with  our  little  part- 
ing gifts.  Before  dinner  we  went  with  Wil- 
helm  to  an  out-of-the-way  place  and  drank, 
or  tried  to  drink,  Mumme,  the  famous  bever- 
age of  Brunswick.  We  left  at  four  in  the 
afternoon,  Mr.  Sack  and  Wilhelm  going  with 
us  to  the  station  and  giving  us  a  very  cordial 
good-by.  The  weather  was  stormy,  and  our 
ride  to  Magdeburg  presented  nothing  of  in- 
terest. 

"Oct.  9.  Left  Magdeburg"  at  eleven,  and  af- 
ter  a  ride  of  two  hours  through  an  uninterest- 
ing but  very  rich  country,  reached  Halle,  and 
having  been  subjected  to  an  examination  at 


68  MEMOIRS. 

the  custom-house,  got  to  our  new  home,  and 
met  with  a  cordial  reception  from  Madame 
Midler. 

"Oct.  10.  Well  pleased  with  our  new  home. 
Walked  this  morning,  and  saw  the  Waisen- 
haus,  a  high  but  ugly  pile  of  buildings,  where 
three  thousand  children  receive  instruction,  the 
Dom,  if  possible,  still  more  ugly,  the  post-office 
and  university.  Dined  with  Young  and  Simon 
at  a  restaurant,  which  is  the  universal  practice 
here.  Called  in  the  afternoon  on  Professor 
Tholuck,  who  received  us  with  great  kindness, 
and  arranged  a  walk  for  the  next  day. 

"Oct.  11.  Had  a  very  pleasant  walk  of  two 
hours.  The  conversation  turned  mainly  on 
the  movements  of  the  extreme  Lutheran  party, 
which  seemed  to  grieve  him  exceedingly. 
'When  they  say  to  me,'  he  exclaimed,  '  nur 
Einheit,  nur  Einheit,  I  reply,  nur  Wahrheit, 
nur  Wahrheit.' 

"Oct.  13.  Commenced  the  tedious  process 
of  matriculation  by  going  to  the  University, 
surrendering  our  passports,  going  before  the 
rector,  and  then  to  the  secretary,  where  we 
wrote  all  the  particulars  respecting  our  birth- 
places, names,  and  manner  of  life  ivp wards,  in 
a  huge  book.  About  thirty  other  students 
were  present,  many  in  uniform,  serving  their 
time  in  the  army. 


MA  TRIC  ULA  TION.  6  9 

"Oct.  15.  At  eleven  o'clock  went  to  the 
University  and  heard  Erdmann  deliver  an 
eloquent  address  in  commemoration  of  the 
king's  birthday.  In  the  evening  the  city  was 
illuminated.  Took  tea  with  Tholuck.  Mrs. 
Tholuck,  a  very  pleasing  woman,  who  speaks 
English  with  great  fluency.  Met  there  Pro- 
fessor Hursy,  and  talked  about  Professor 
Stowe  and  Jonathan  Edwards.  He  was  sur- 
prised to  hear  that  the  latter  was  dead.  The 
other  day  I  called  on  Professor  Ulrici  and  pre- 
sented a  copy  of  '  Edwards  on  the  Will '  from 
Mr.  Thayer,  which  he  mistook  for  a  work  by 
Professor  Edwards,  and  proposed  to  notice  in 
his  Review,  among  the  new  books  of  the  day. 

"Oct.  17.  Went  to  the  University  according 
to  order  and  received  my  Anmeldebnch  from 
the  curator,  after  having  been  sent  back  to 
the  secretary  to  change  R.  I.  to  Rhode  Island 
in  the  entry  I  had  made.  Called  on  Professor 
Witte,  but  he  was  not  in.  In  the  afternoon 
we  called  with  Young  on  Julius  Miiller  and 
were  much  pleased  with  him. 

"Oct.  19.  In  the  morning  at  nine  o'clock 
had  the  first  lecture  from  Miiller  on  Dogmat- 
ics. Understood  it  pretty  well,  though  his 
enunciation  is  very  indistinct. 

"Oct.  20.    At  last  completed  our  matricula- 


70  MEMOIRS. 

tion.  Introduced  into  a  large  room,  heard  a 
short  speech  from  the  rector,  Professor  Leo, 
—  a  Latin  oath  was  read,  to  which  we  all 
gave  assent,  then  went  one  by  one  to  the 
rector,  Avere  taken  by  the  hand,  and  each  re- 
ceived a  large  document  attesting  his  matricu- 
lation  and  admitting  him  to  all  the  privileges 
of  the  University.  Called  on  Tholuck,  and 
received  his  signature  to  my  Aiimeldebuch. 

"  Oct.  23.  The  lectures  have  begun  in  good 
earnest,  after  waiting  here  two  weeks.  Muller 
every  day  at  nine,  on  Dogmatics,  and  Wed- 
nesdays and  Saturdays,  at  six  p.  m.,  on  In- 
troduction to  Dogmatics.  Erdmann  every 
evening  at  five,  on  History  of  Philosophy. 
Tholuck  four  times  a  week  at  three  p.  m.,  on 
the  Life  of  Christ,  and  on  Saturday  at  ten 
a.  m.,  on  the  Doctrine  of  Paul.  Schwarz  on 
the  same  subject  at  eleven  a.m.  on  Wednes- 
day. 

"Oct.  24.  Called  to-day  on  Professor  Leo, 
and  had  a  pleasant  conversation  running  on 
German  and  Anglo-Saxon  languages.  Besides 
our  lectures  we  study  in  private  Kant's  '  Critic 
of  Pure  Reason.' 

"Oct.  28.  In  the  afternoon  we  dined  with 
Professor  Erdmann.  Much  pleased  with  Mme. 
Erdmann.     Very  elegant  dinner.     Had  a  fine 


THOLUCK,   ERDMANN,  AND  MULLER.      71 

view  from  the  balcony  of  a  procession  of  stu- 
dents. First  a  marshal  on  horseback,  with 
cocked  hat,  feathers,  velvet  coat,  long  sword, 
white  trousers,  and  long  boots.  Then  a  band, 
mounted,  and  in  uniform.  Then  a  cavalcade 
of  horsemen,  dressed  like  the  first.  Then  the 
dignitaries  of  the  University  in  open  carriages 
drawn  by  six  horses  with  postilions.  Then  a 
fellow  on  horseback  representing  a  fox,  or 
freshman.  Then  a  venerable-looking  fellow, 
in  a  carriage  with  a  huge  dog.  Then  the  in- 
ferior members  in  carriages.  The  whole  was 
the  most  characteristic  feature  that  I  have  yet 
seen  of  the  German  student  life. 

"  Oct.  29.  Heard  Tholuck  preach  at  the  aca- 
demic service  in  the  Domkirche.  Was  much 
pleased  with  the  Liturgy,  especially  with  the 
chanting  of  the  choir-boys.  Tholuck  is  inter- 
esting as  a  preacher,  and  his  sermons  have 
more  in  them  than  those  I  have  heard. 

"Nov.  6.  Called  this  morning:  on  Professor 
Roediger.  Was  received  with  great  kindness, 
and  had  a  most  agreeable  conversation  of  an 
hour,  chiefly  about  oriental  subjects. 

"Sunday,  Nov.  19.  Heard  Erdmann  preach 
in  the  Domkirche.  Seemed  odd  enough  to 
see  him  in  gown  and  bands.  We  have  all 
been  exceedingly  interested  for  some  time  past 


72  MEMOIRS. 

in  Miiller's  theory  of  the  Personality  of  God, 
and  the  Trinity.  As  a  lecturer  he  satisfies 
my  utmost  desires.  I  feel  an  interest  in  The- 
ology that  has  never  animated  me  before. 

"Dec.  3.  We  went  to-day  at  eleven  to 
Tholuck's,  and  spent  a  couple  of  hours  with 
him  walking  up  and  down  in  an  arbor  in  the 
garden,  discussing  some  points  which  had 
arisen  in  his  lectures  on  the  Life  of  Christ, 
principally  relating  to  the  Logos,  and  to 
Genealogies.  As  to  the  first  he  was  not  very 
clear,  his  idea  seemed  in  many  respects  akin 
to  Plato's.  He  borrowed  from  Aristotle  an 
illustration  of  the  Trinity:  6  vo&v,  to  vov(ievov 
%  6  vovg.  The  last  being  the  unity  of  the 
other  two. 

"Dec.  10.  In  the  morning  read  Strauss's 
1  Leben  Jesu.'  Begin  to  feel  a  great  inter- 
est in  the  historical  criticism  of  the  origin  of 
Christianity. 

"Dec.  11.  Took  tea  at  Professor  Witte's. 
T.  and  I  read  aloud  from  Longfellow's  '  Kav- 
anagh.' 

"Dec.  13.  Took  tea  this  evening  at  Pro- 
fessor Erdmann's.  Miiller  has  not  lectured 
in  consequence  of  sickness,  so  I  have  given 
more  time  to  the  '  Critic  of  Pure  Reason/ 
which  I  have  about  two  thirds  read." 


"OLD  YEAR'S  DAY."  73 

December  18th,  there  was  a  disputation  in 
the  University,  which  is  described  with  inter- 
est. Christmas  Eve  was  spent  at  Professor 
Roediger's,  and  much  enjoyed :  the  tree  was 
admired,  and  the  following  day  a  party  of  stu- 
dents gathered  to  "  make  way  with  some  nice 
cake  and  sausages  "  from  the  good  friends  in 
Brunswick. 

"Dec.  31.  Took  tea  this  evening"  with 
Tholuck,  in  company  with  some  of  our  Scotch 
and  English  friends.  While  waiting  for  tea 
Mrs.  Tholuck  read  a  beautiful  German  hymn 
for  Christmas.  At  tea  had  a  very  pleasant 
conversation  on  serious  topics.  Professor  Tho- 
luck spoke  of  his  visit  to  Oxford,  where  he 
met  Pusey,  Newman,  etc.  When  tea  was  over 
he  read  a  chapter  from  the  Bible,  made  some 
remarks  appropriate  to  the  close  of  the  year, 
and  a  short  prayer.  The  whole  was  very  im- 
pressive, and  seemed  more  like  a  Christian 
family  scene  than  anything  we  had  seen  in 
Germany.  When  we  reached  home  quite  an- 
other scene  presented  itself ;  the  New  Year's 
feast  was  going  on  in  the  common  style.  In 
Mme.  Miiller's  parlor  was  a  big  tureen  oj 
punch,  up-stairs  another,  where  the  students 
were  drinking.  In  another  room  the  piano 
was  going,  and  the  students  were  dancing  with 


74  MEMOIRS. 

the  servant-girls.  Got  away  to  bed,  but  could 
not  get  asleep  on  account  of  the  noise  in  the 
house.  The  instant  the  clock  had  ceased  to 
strike  twelve  a  tremendous  shouting  com- 
menced in  the  streets  to  welcome  the  new 
year." 

A  couple  of  days  in  Leipsic  finished  the 
vacation,  and  January  4th  "  the  lectures,  which 
have  been  suspended  for  two  weeks  during 
the  vacation,  recommenced  to-day." 

About  this  time  Mr.  Diman  wrote  home : 
"  I  met  this  evening  a  young  Russian  student, 
in  whom  I  was  exceedingly  interested.  It  is 
a  little  singular  that  here  in  Germany  I  have 
been  most  pleased  with  Hungarians,  Swiss,  and 
Russians.  Of  course  he  talked  mostly  of 
Russia  and  the  war.  He  said  that  it  was  very 
popular  with  the  Russian  people,  and  that 
though  Russia  might  be  disconcerted  at  the  out- 
set, in  the  end  she  was  sure  to  conquer ;  that 
Russia  was  yet  a  child,  her  history  ran  back  but 
a  century  and  a  half ;  that  her  exhaustless  re- 
sources were  yet  undeveloped  ;  that  an  illimit- 
able future  was  hers ;  while  France  and  Eng- 
land had  passed  their  grand  climacteric.  He 
said  that  the  common  idea  of  Russia  was  en- 
tirely false,  that  the  emperor  was  much  belied, 
and  that  during  his  entire  reign  he  had  labored 


TALK   WITH  A   RUSSIAN  STUDENT.      75 

to  improve  the  condition  of  the  serfs,  which 
had  greatly  changed  for  the  better ;  that  it 
would  be  folly  to  give  them  at  once  political 
freedom,  as  they  would  only  abuse  it,  but  that 
to  all  efforts  to  prepare  them  for  it  the  em- 
peror gave  a  most  generous  aid.  He  said  that 
the  serfs,  though  not  generally  educated,  were 
almost  always  intelligent,  and  being  attached 
to  the  soil,  families  could  never  be  separated, 
that  every  one  could  have  his  freedom  at  a 
price  fixed  upon  by  law,  but  that  most  pre- 
ferred to  remain  serfs,  as  they  were  then  en- 
titled to  maintenance  at  the  hands  of  their 
masters.  In  short,  from  his  account  I  con- 
cluded that  our  idea  of  the  Russians  was  about 
as  accurate  as  the  popular  notion  of  an  Ameri- 
can here,  where  he  is  always  represented  as  a 
man  with  a  wide  straw  hat  and  striped,  trou- 
sers, a  revolver  and  bowie-knife,  and  a  whip 
in  his  hand  to  use  over  the  slaves.  I  was  glad 
to  hear  this  side  of  the  case  clearly  presented 
by  one  who  spoke  with  an  entire  absence  of 
all  bitterness,  and  in  a  calm,  philosophic 
spirit.  Of  course  the  greatest  interest  is  felt 
by  all  here,  relative  to  the  progress  of  the 
war.  I  think  that  as  a  general  thing  the 
middle  and  lower  classes  are  on  the  side  of 
England,  but  Erdmann,  Leo,  Witte,  and  men 


76  MEMOIRS. 

of  this  stamp,  of  absolutist  tendencies,  sympa- 
thize with  Russia.  The  professors,  however, 
are  by  no  means  unanimous.  There  are  two 
or  three  Republicans  among  them,  who  were 
delegates  to  the  famous  Frankfort  Parliament 
in  1848.  Of  course  they  are  now  all  down, 
but  no  professor  is  ever  removed  here  on  ac- 
count of  his  opinions,  unless  they  are  directly 
subversive  of  all  order  and  decency.  They 
have  the  liberty  of  teaching  what  they  choose, 
which  gives  rise  to  a  most  agreeable  variety ; 
at  Bonn,  for  example,  where  the  professors 
are  both  Catholic  and  Protestant." 

So  the  life  at  Halle  went  on  to  the  middle 
of  March.  Almost  every  evening  was  spent 
with  the  professors. 

"  In  the  evening  with  Professor  Leo.  En- 
joyed ourselves,  as  usual,  very  much.  Mrs. 
Leo,  by  her  kindness  of  manner,  has  quite 
won  my  heart."  Such  entries  occur  con- 
stantly. His  own  enjoyment  proves  the  pleas- 
ure he  must  have  given. 

"  March  16.  This  morning  sent  all  our 
books  to  the  Waisenhaus,  where  they  are  to 
remain  till  we  return  to  America.  Called  on 
Mrs.  Tholuck,  but  she  was  sick  and  unable  to 
see  us.  Had  a  pleasant  call  on  Mrs.  Erdmann, 
and  left  her  little  tokens  of  our  regard.     Spent 


FAREWELL    TO  HALLE.  77 

the  time  in  packing  till  five,  when  we  called 
on  Tholuck,  and  received  notes  of  introduction 
to  professors  in  Heidelberg.  In  the  evening 
gave  a  farewell  supper  to  Young  and  Simon, 
all  who  remain  of  our  pleasant  circle  in  Halle. 
The  evening  till  eleven  was  passed  in  pleasant 
conversation  and  reminiscences  of  the  happy 
hours  we  have  passed  together  here  during  the 
last  winter.  We  shall  never  forget  them. 
"  And  so  ends  my  life  in  Halle." 

The  Rev.  Charles  C.  Tiffany,  so  often  al- 
luded to  in  the  previous  pages,  sends  the  fol- 
lowing sketch  of  these  days  of  travel,  and 
enthusiastic  study :  — 

"  I  am  to  write  of  my  sojourn  abroad  with 
my  friend  Diman,  when  we  were  students  to- 
gether at  several  German  universities. 

"  How  shall  I  fittingly  recall  to  others  what 
lives  so  vividly  in  my  own  recollection  !  The 
facts  and  incidents  become  indistinct  and 
misty  as  one  looks  back  to  the  experiences  of 
thirty  years  ago  ;  but  the  feeling  of  exhilara- 
tion as  we  walked  the  steamer  together  in  an- 
ticipation ;  the  sense  of  quiet  and  freedom  as 
we  studied  together  under  the  inspiring  Pro- 
fessors of  Halle,  Heidelberg,  and  Berlin ;  the 
enlarged  view  of  life  and  the  high  purpose  to 


78  MEMOIRS. 

live  well  in  it,  as  we  returned,  —  these  are  un- 
fading memories,  because  they  were  impres- 
sions which,  once  taken,  live  on  forever. 

"  It  was  in  August,  on  the  twelfth  day  of 
the  month,  I  think,  in  1854,  that  Diman  and  I 
sailed  on  the  steamship  Herman  for  Bremen. 
We  had  been  fellow-students  two  years  at 
Andover,  and  were  both  looking  forward  to 
the  ministry.  We  shared  a  common  longing 
to  know  more  of  German  thought  and  to  gain 
riper  acquaintance  with  the  German  tongue  ; 
and  so  we  started  with  that  eagerness  of  en- 
thusiasm which  young  men  have  when  looking 
out  upon  a  wider  horizon  than  that  which  has 
heretofore  limited  their  vision.  It  was  a  voy- 
age of  discovery  before  us.  Though  the  old 
world,  it  had  to  us  all  the  freshness  of  a  new. 
And  the  most  delightful  element  in  the  new 
prospect  to  both  of  us  was  the  fact  that  we 
were  going  to  taste  the  old.  The  historical 
associations  of  the  centuries  were  to  be  the 
dear  environment  in  which  we  were  to  pursue 
our  investigations  into  the  most  recent  modern 
thought. 

"  This,  in  fact,  was  the  especial  key-note  to 
my  friend  Diman's  character.  There  lay  in 
him  great  reverence  and  longing  for  the  past. 
There  abode  in  him  also  an  eager  intellectual 


RECOLLECTIONS  BY  REV.  C.  C.  TIFFANY.      79 

desire  to  know  and  test  the  latest  fruits  of 
criticism  and  speculative  research.  But  the 
latter  had  little  or  no  value  in  his  eyes  unless 
it  were  the  evident  growth  out  of  old  knowl- 
edge and  remoter  thought ;  and  the  old  found 
its  potent  fascination  as  the  obscure,  but  still 
real  root,  of  the  strange  tangle  of  growth  in 
modern  thought  and  institutions ;  through 
which  labyrinth  we  need  imperatively  the 
knowledge  of  the  older  threads  of  thought  to 
guide  us  safely,  not  into  shallow  indetermi- 
nate speculation,  but  into  rational  progress. 

"  How  ardent  we  were  when  we  set  out ! 
Each  day  on  the  steamer,  notwithstanding 
qualms  of  sea-sickness,  and  the  temptations  to 
listlessness,  a  certain  task  of  German  grammar 
and  phrases  was  gone  through  regularly. 
Diman,  by  his  fine,  manly  beauty,  his  undeviat- 
ing  courtesy,  his  thoughtful  conversation,  won 
from  the  few  passengers  we  had  as  compan- 
ions a  very  hearty  appreciation  and  respectful 
recognition.  In  some  difficulty  which  occurred 
between  the  captain,  a  fiery  Southerner,  and 
the  passengers,  he  was  requested  by  the  elder 
men  to  draw  up  the  protest  and  give  expres- 
sion to  the  sentiments  of  the  aggrieved.  I 
remember  well,  too,  the  fine  scorn  he  showed 
for  two  harmless  and  heedless  young  fellows, 


80  MEMOIRS. 

who,  rich  and  careless,  seemed  to  look  upon 
their  first  visit  to  Europe  as  the  opportunity 
for  an  unbounded  spree.  When  we  anchored 
off  Cowes  at  night,  and  had  our  first  view  of 
England  on  the  Sunday  morning  following, 
and  were  delighted  by  the  beauty  of  the  ivy- 
clad  towers  of  Hurst  Castle,  and  charmed  by 
the  sound  of  the  church-bells,  and  were  bask- 
ing in  this  first  realization  of  our  dreams  of 
England,  our  entrance  through  the  enchanted 
gate  of  historical  Europe  was  rudely  shocked 
by  the  urgent  invitation  of  these  two  young 
men  to  hurry  off  to  land  and  make  use  of  a 
half  hour's  delay  to  *  eat  a  real  English 
beefsteak  and  drink  genuine  English  ale  on 
the  spot,  you  know.'  Diman  could  hardly 
get  over  that.  He  would  have  liked  to  enter 
one  of  the  pretty  churches,  and  have  heard 
an  English  service,  or  would  have  climbed 
with  ardor  and  scaled  the  height  crowned  by 
the  castle  turrets  ;  but  to  go,  as  the  first  visit 
in  Europe,  the  Europe  of  boyish  dreams  and 
manhood's  meditations,  —  to  a  restaurant  to 
eat  and  drink,  albeit  English  beef  and  ale, 
this  was  a  little  too  much.  He  could  hardly 
be  civil  all  day.  Bremen  is  a  quaint  but 
rather  stupid  town  now,  I  find,  but  then  it 
was  all  poetry  and  glamour  both  for  Diman 


RECOLLECTIONS  BY  REV.  C.  C.  TIFFANY.      81 

and  myself.  After  a  day  in  Bremen  we  went 
down  through  Hanover  to  Braunschweig', 
where  we  were  to  study  till  the  semester  in 
Halle  began.  How  we  revelled  in  Hanover  ! 
Here  we  saw  our  first  palace  and  marveled  at 
its  historical  pictures.  I  cannot  forget  our 
intense  amusement  at  a  London  cockney,  who 
accompanied  us  through  the  palace.  Diman 
remarked,  (  They  have  here  all  Napoleon's  de- 
feats, but  none  of  his  victories.'  e  That 's 
because  he  never  had  any/  exclaimed  the 
English  snob.  The  fine  statue  of  Leibnitz,  in 
the  square,  called  out  his  admiration  as  he  re- 
peated the  fine  sentence  concerning  him,  — 
'  One  who  drove  all  the  Sciences  abreast.' 

"  And  now  we  were  in  Braunschweig,  that 
quaint,  lovely  town  with  gallery  and  cathedral 
and  old  churches,  and  a  palace  and  the  beauti- 
ful Anlage,  the  park  made  out  of  the  old 
ramparts.  We  studied  hard  to  learn  to  un- 
derstand spoken  German ;  and  such  German 
as  we  spoke  together  as  we  walked  there ! 
Our  host,  Herr  Sack,  who  lived  just  opposite 
the  old  Domkirche,  where  Heinrich  der  Lowe 
and  Queen  Caroline,  'the  murdered  queen  of 
England,'  lie  buried,  was  an  antiquarian,  and 
Diman  reveled  in  his  old  manuscripts  and 
coins  and   autographs.      Here  we   gained   a 


82  MEMOIRS. 

genuine  smack  of  the  old  flavor  which  pervades 
the  atmosphere  of  the  old  historic  towns.  We 
visited  Wolfenbuttel,  hard  by  where  Lessing 
had  been  librarian,  and  had  written  '  Nathan 
der  Weise.'  We  made  an  excursion  into  the 
Hartz  Mountains,  and  climbed  through  the 
Elsethal  to  the  Brocken,  and  mounted  the 
Devil's  Pulpit,  where  is  laid  the  scene  of 
Goethe's  Walpurgis  Nacht,  in  Faust.  Every 
day  unfolded  something  new  of  the  old,  and 
work  found  its  potent  stimulus  in  all  our  sur- 
roundings. Six  weeks  soon  fled,  and  we  were 
at  Halle,  the  great  centre  of  theological  in- 
terest at  that  time.  Though  reticent,  Diman 
made  much  impression  on  his  distinguished 
teachers,  and  his  fellow  -  American  students 
soon  looked  upon  him  as  their  chief.  He  en- 
joyed his  studies ;  he  also  enjoyed  greatly  the 
social  life  in  the  Professors'  families  where  he 
was  welcomed,  and  the  Kneipen  and  Verbin- 
dungen  of  the  students  which  he  visited.  It 
was  a  winter  of  earnest  and  arduous  study, 
and  we  were  ready  for  the  spring  vacation 
when  we  left  Halle  and  went  to  Munich  for 
our  holiday." 


CHAPTER  V. 

1855-185G.     aet.  24-25. 

Leipsic.  —  Dresden  Gallery,  Nuremberg.  —  Munich.  —  Hei- 
delberg. —  Matriculation.  —  Lectures.  —  German  Specula- 
tion. —  Translation  from  Paul  Gerhardt.  —  Calls  on  Bunsen. 
— Umbreit.  —  Reminiscences  of  Bunsen.  —  Switzerland.  — 
Travel.  —  Berlin.  —  Lepsius.  —  Althaus.  —  Nitzsch.  — 
Trendelenburg.  —  First  Sermon  written.  —  Prayer-Meet- 
ing.—  Strauss.  —  Recollections  by  Rev.  C.  C.  Tiffany. — 
Travel.  —  Paris.  —  London.  —  Maurice.  —  Industrial 
Schools. — House  of  Commons. — Travel  in  England. — 
First  Sermon  preached.  —  Scotland.  —  Return  Home. 

The  two  students  left  Halle  March  17th, 
going  to  Leipsic  for  a  day,  thence  to  Dresden, 
where  a  week  was  spent,  chiefly  in  the  gallery. 
The  pictures  of  interest  were  noted,  and  art 
studied  with  the  same  thoroughness  and  care 
that  was  lately  bestowed  on  theology.  The 
first  day  in  the  gallery  is  always  confusing, 
particularly  as  it  was  "  raw  and  uncomfortable, 
especially  to  me,  suffering  with  a  cold.  Found 
nothing  in  the  early  German  school  that 
pleased  me.  A  little  disappointed  with  the 
Italian  masters,  though  there  were  some  that 
answered  all  my  desires.     I  was  hardly  in  a 


84  MEMOIRS. 

state  to  judge  them.  Paul  Veronese  and 
Titian  disappointed  me,  except  the  Tribute 
Money  of  the  latter."  Other  pictures  that 
pleased  him  were  mentioned,  but  he  says,  "  far 
above  all  these,  the  divine  Madonna,  in  which 
all  my  ideal  of  art  is  realized. 

"March  20.  At  the  gallery  again  with  un- 
ceasing admiration  of  its  treasures.  Found 
much  to  admire  that  I  had  passed  over  yester- 
day, and  admired  more  what  I  had  before  no- 
ticed." The  week  was  spent  in  sight-seeing, 
and  everything  of  interest  noted.  Two  days 
followed  in  Nuremberg,  which  were  greatly 
enjoyed. 

"March  26.  After  breakfast  made  the  com- 
plete circuit  of  the  city,  examining  its  ancient 
defenses,  and  numbering  its  quaint  and  mas- 
sive towers.  Then  visited  again  the  St.  Law- 
rence church,  and  went  on  a  pilgrimage  to 
the  house  of  Hans  Sachs.  Had  previously 
seen  that  of  Albert  Diirer.  Derived  the 
greatest  enjoyment  from  the  quaint  and  beauti- 
ful architecture  of  the  city,  its  high  roofs,  its 
numerous  little  turrets,  and  its  elaborately 
carved  windows.  The  Middle  Ages  were  all 
about  us." 

A  fortnight  was  spent  in  Munich,  chiefly 
in  the  Pinacothek,  and  in  visiting  the  artists' 


THE  PINACOTHEK.  85 

studios.  Furness  was  then  in  Munich,  and 
several  visits  to  his  studio  are  mentioned.  Al- 
most every  day  a  visit  to  the  gallery  was  made 
and  some  fresh  impression  recorded. 

"March  28.  Got  as  far  as  the  Rubens 
Hall  in  the  centre,  and  was  more  impressed 
with  his  paintings  than  ever  before. 

"April  2.  Delighted  with  the  beggars  and 
children  of  Murillo.  Pleased  with  Domeni- 
chino,  but  not  with  the  Italians  in  general. 

"April  4c.  All  the  morning  at  the  Pina- 
cothek,  looking  at  Italian  paintings.  More 
pleased  with  the  Holy  Family  of  Raphael. 
Saw  many  of  his  earliest  paintings  in  the  style 
of  Perugino.  Several  by  Perugino,  and  fine 
ones  by  Andrea  del  Sarto.  The  Italian  paint- 
ings please  me  more  and  more. 

"April  7.  Not  well  satisfied  with  the  De- 
struction of  Jerusalem  by  Kaulbach.  Exqui- 
site in  detail,  but  seems  to  lack  unity  as  a 
whole.  Too  many  ideas  are  crowded  on  the 
canvas.  The  mind  hesitates  between  them. 
The  supernatural  element,  too,  is  too  palpably 
introduced.  Not  enough  is  left  to  the  imag- 
ination. There  is  something  incongruous  in 
a  Roman  general  being  preceded  by  a  band 
of  angels  with  white  wings." 

At  the  end  of  the  entries  for  Munich  the 


86  MEMOIRS. 

journal  contains  a  list  of  the  paintings  in  the 
Pinacothek  which  were  particular  favorites. 
They  embrace  works  by  forty-one  masters, 
each  with  a  few  descriptive  words  so  that  they 
may  easily  be  recalled.  The  careful  study 
given  the  subject  afterward  bore  fruit  in  some 
of  Mr.  Diman's  most  charming  lectures  and 
essays. 

Augsburg  and  Ulm  had  a  passing  visit, 
and  April  12th  they  arrived  in  Heidelberg. 
"  Took  a  stroll  up  to  the  old  castle,  where  we 
had  a  magnificent  view.  The  old  ruins  en- 
chanted  me. 

"April  17.  Feel  well  pleased  with  Heidel- 
berg in  every  respect,  and  look  forward  to  a 
delightful  summer.  Am  struck  with  the 
cleanness  of  the  streets,  the  meanness  of  the 
University  buildings,  the  solidity  of  the  gates, 
the  peculiar  situation  of  the  town,  the  small- 
ness  of  the  steamboats,  the  ugliness  of  the 
river  craft,  and  in  general  with  the  exceedingly 
deliberate  manner  in  which  the  arts  of  naviga- 
tion seem  to  be  practiced  by  the  men. 

"April  24.  Heard  a  lecture  from  Schofer- 
lein  on  Theological  Ethics.  The  matter  was 
interesting,  but  the  manner  dull. 

"April  28.  We  went  to  the  University  at 
twelve  o'clock  to-day  and  were  matriculated. 


GERMAN  SPECULATION.  87 

Process  by  no  means  so  long  and  complicated 
as  at  Halle.     Got  through  it  in  an  hour. 

"Ajjril  30.  This  afternoon  heard  Mitter- 
maier,  the  great  lecturer  on  Criminal  Law. 
The  room  was  crowded.  His  personal  appear- 
ance is  very  striking,  as  his  hair  and  beard 
are  perfectly  white.  He  lectured  with  great 
animation,  and  with  a  profusion  of  illustra- 
tion. His  mode  of  address  was  very  simple, 
almost  undignified,  and  his  profanity  was  enor- 
mous, even  according  to  a  German  standard. 

"Am  very  much  interested  now  in  Rothe's 
lectures  on  the  Logical  Process  of  Develop- 
ment of  the  Deity.  Chevalier  Bunsen  says 
that  it  is  the  greatest  course  of  lectures  now 
read  in  Germany.  Feel  German  speculation 
is  every  day  becoming-  less  and  less  misty. 
Love  this  deep  view,  and  this  constant  strug- 
gle after  unity.  Had  a  talk  with  Simon  to-day 
on  the  subject.  His  interest  is  concentrated 
on  the  objective  nature  of  the  Atonement,  mine 
on  the  Person  of  Christ.  Feel  more  and  more 
every  day,  that  the  common  prevailing  notions 
with  us  on  the  subject  are  grossly  erroneous. 
Feel  that  while  Christ  was  the  ideal  man,  so 
it  is  ever  to  be  the  aim  of  every  one  in  the 
same  manner  to  realize  the  ideal  man,  and 
thus  be  also  a  manifestation  of  the  Logos  in 


88  MEMOIRS. 

the  flesh.     Each  believer  should  be  the  living 
word  of  God. 

"  May  13.  Sunday.  Have  amused  myself 
in  translating  two  verses  from  Paul  Gerhardt, 
whom  I  greatly  love. 

O  GOTT,   MEIN   SCHOPFER,   EDLER  FURST. 

0  Lord,  Creator,  King  of  Heaven, 

Thou  Father  of  my  life, 
If  not  to  Thee  that  life  is  given, 

I  wage  an  empty  strife. 
Living  —  my  spirit  dwells  in  Death, 

Wedded  to  sin  alone ; 
Who,  wallowing  in  the  mire  of  sin, 
Forgets  the  nobler  Life  within, 

True  Life  has  never  known. 

0  happy  he,  who  constant  feeds 

From  food  and  drink  of  Heaven, 
Who  nothing  sees,  nor  tastes,  nor  needs 

Beyond  what  Thou  hast  given  ; 
Gift  of  that  mystic  life,  the  Spring, 

That  man  with  God  shall  spend, 
That  Life  where  angels  joyous  sing, 
Where  songs  of  praise  forever  ring, 

Forever,  without  end. 

May  28th  to  June  2d  was  occupied  by  a 
walking  trip  on  the  Rhine,  which  was  greatly 
enjoyed. 

"June  18.    Loomis  and  I  called  on  Bunsen.1 

1  "  Bunsen  was  greatly  impressed  by  Dinian's  fine  eye  and 
forehead,  and  by  bis  scholarly  deference  and  intelligent 
questionings,"  writes  Rev.  C.  C.  Tiffany. 


CONVERSATIONS  WITH  BUNSEN         89 

Found  him  in  the  garden.  A  fat,  cordial 
man,  with  noble  forehead,  and  most  benevo- 
lent-looking face.  We  had  a  long  conversa- 
tion, chiefly  on  the  principles  of  editing  the 
text  of  the  New  Testament.  He  praised 
Lachmann,  but  spoke  very  disparagingly  of 
Teschendorf,  whom  he  termed  a  coxcomb. 
When  I  was  first  introduced  he  paid  a  com- 
pliment to  Rhode  Island,  saying  that  it  had  a 
proud  history. 

"  June  29.  In  the  afternoon  we  called  on 
Bunsen.  Saw  him,  as  usual,  in  the  garden. 
He  asked  about  American  politics,  the  relation 
of  the  Know-nothings  to  slavery,  etc.  Said 
he  agreed  with  Sumner. 

"  July  20.  Called  upon  Bunsen.  He  gave 
us  his  grounds  for  the  antiquity  of  language, 
and  explained  quite  fully  the  work  on  which 
he  is  now  engaged  on  the  Bible.  Asked 
about  the  Catholic  schools  in  America.  A 
sudden  storm  detained  us  awhile,  and  we  had 
a  pleasant  conversation  with  Mrs.  Bunsen. 

"  July  23.  Heard  Umbreit  this  morning, 
on  the  118th  Psalm ;  a  remarkable  man,  with 
white  locks  and  pleasing  countenance.  His 
style  of  lecturing  was  clear  and  pleased  me. 

"  August  3.  T.  and  I  took  tea  at  Bunsen's. 
Met  there  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hill,  the  missionaries 


90  MEMOIRS. 

at  Athens,  and  the  daughter  of  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury. 

"  August  10.  Called  this  afternoon  to  take 
leave  of  Chevalier  Bunsen.  Had  a  long  con- 
versation. He  once  more  expressed  his  desire 
that  the  Baptists  and  Congregationalists  in 
America  might  become  one.  Spoke  earnestly 
of  the  defects  in  the  Unitarian  system,  but 
approvingly  of  Channing.  He  took  leave  of 
us  with  great  kindness." 

So  ended  the  four  months'  stay  in  Heidel- 
berg. The  lectures  seem  to  have  made  less 
impression  than  those  at  Halle.  Mr.  Diman 
and  his  friend  Loomis  "  concluded  that  we 
had  derived  but  little  from  Rothe."  But 
the  intercourse  with  Chevalier  Bunsen  was 
something  that  left  an  indelible  impression, 
and  to  which  he  often  referred  in  his  after- 
life. The  beautiful  walks  about  the  city,  and 
into  the  country,  which  were  of  almost  daily 
occurrence,  were  also  a  source  of  delight  and 
pleasant  memory.  The  last  week  of  his  stay 
was  made  bright  by  the  arrival  of  his  brother 
Henry.  "  I  was  glad  enough  to  see  him. 
We  passed  nearly  the  whole  day  in  conversa- 
tion about  home,  his  travels,  etc."  At  the 
death  of  Bunsen,  in  1860,  Mr.  Diman  wrote  of 
him :  — 


CHARLOTTENBURG.  91 

"  Those  who  have  wandered  amid  the  ruins 
of  the  old  castle  of  Heidelberg  may  remember 
on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river  a  capacious 
but  unpretending  house,  its  yellow  walls  al- 
most washed  by  the  water,  its  terraced  and 
well-shaded  garden  enough  raised  above  the 
road  to  secure  privacy,  without  hiding  any 
feature  of  the  surrounding  scenery.  In  this 
garden,  of  a  pleasant  summer  afternoon,  Bun- 
sen  was  almost  always  to  be  found  seated  in 
an  easy-chair,  sipping  his  cup  of  coffee,  and 
conversing;  with  some  visitor.  Few  men  of 
mark  came  to  Heidelberg  without  wending 
their  way  across  the  old  bridge  to  that  hospi- 
table mansion. 

"  The  young  Americans,  who  were  at  that 
time  students  of  the  neighboring  University, 
were  welcomed  with  especial  kindness.  Partly 
from  a  generous  interest  that  seemed  never 
weary  of  rendering  assistance,  and  partly, 
without  doubt,  from  that  disposition  so  often 
shown  by  men  of  original  ideas  to  surround 
themselves  with  impressible  spirits,  Bunsen 
seemed  to  take  a  peculiar  pleasure  in  convers- 
ing with  young  men.  His  eye  would  sparkle, 
his  voice  would  become  tremulous,  his  whole 
being  would  seem  alive  when  expatiating  on 
his  favorite  topics  to  them,  who,  if  they  felt 


92  MEMOIRS. 

disposed  to  question  his  conclusions,  had  little 
opportunity  to  do  so. 

"  Those  who  know  Bunsen  only  through  his 
books,  where  unaccustomed  ideas  are  often 
clothed  in  involved  and  scholastic  style,  can 
form  no  conception  of  the  surpassing  charm 
of  his  conversation.  In  person  he  was  below 
the  middle  height,  inclined  to  corpulence, 
and  with  nothing  in  his  external  appearance 
that  attested  his  wonderful  industry.  His 
head  was  finely  formed,  and  his  face,  with  its 
regular  outline  and  delicately  chiselled  feat- 
ures, was  handsome.  His  knowledge  of  Eng- 
lish was  only  too  exact,  robbing  his  sentences 
of  that  careless  grace  that  marks  the  perfect 
master  of  discourse.  His  command  of  words 
seemed  unlimited,  and  the  fire  and  eloquence 
with  which  he  would  enter  at  once  on  some 
chance  topic  suggested  by  a  visitor,  some 
question,  perhaps,  of  biblical  interpretation 
or  ecclesiastical  antiquities,  the  boundless  eru- 
dition with  which  he  would  illustrate  his  argu- 
ments, the  facility  with  which  he  would  quote 
the  various  readings  of  some  disputed  text, 
the  earnestness  with  which  he  would  contro- 
vert any  opposing  views,  rendered  intercourse 
with  him  as  delightful  as  it  was  instructive." 

Then  follow  two  crowded  and  delightful 


VACATION  WANDERINGS.  93 

months  of  travel.  A  walking  trip  in  Switzer- 
land was  taken,  and  all  the  usual  ascents  in 
Chamouny  were  made  and  recorded  with  en- 
thusiasm. From  August  21st  in  Geneva,  till 
September  13th  in  Zurich,  a  merry  party  of 
six  students  spent  most  of  the  time  walking. 
Then  a  few  days  of  sharp  illness  overtook  Mr. 
Diman.  "  High  fever,  and  throat  badly  swol- 
len. Dr.  came,  young  but  good.  Felt  very 
sick  and  uncomfortable." 

"  Aug.  16.  In  bed  all  day,  but  better, 
though  throat  still  very  sore.  Began  to  feel 
restive  at  the  delay.  Savage  and  Tiffany  very 
kind."  The  next  day  they  pushed  on,  cross- 
ing the  lake  by  boat.  The  party  separated, 
and  Mr.  Diman  and  Mr.  Tiffany  continued 
their  journey  for  ten  days  in  the  Tyrol.  A 
week  was  given  to  Vienna,  a  couple  of  days 
to  Prague,  and  October  15th  "reached  Dres- 
den.    Found  Vose  and  Williston." 

"  Oct.  16.  All  the  morning  at  the  gallery ; 
again  after  dinner. 

"  Oct.  17.  Morning  at  the  gallery.  Stud- 
ied especially  the  Spanish  pictures,  the  land- 
scapes, Titian's  Christ,  and  the  Madonna. 
Left  at  three  for  Berlin.  And  so  ended  our 
pleasant  vacation  wanderings. 

"Berlin,   Oct.  20.     At  noon  at   the  Uni- 


94  MEMOIRS. 

versity,  but  could  not  be  matriculated,  as  we 
had  no  dismission  from  Heidelberg. 

"  Oct.  25.  Had  our  first  lecture  from 
Trendelenburg.  Pleased  with  matter  and 
manner. 

"  Oct.  27.  Heard  Vatke  on  recent  History 
of  Theology. 

"  Oct.  29.  This  morning"  heard  Ranke  on 
the  Middle  Ages,  but  found  it  quite  impossible 
to  understand  him,  his  style  of  lecturing  is  so 
peculiar.  Lays  his  finger  on  his  nose,  looks 
up  to  the  ceiling,  speaks  very  rapidly  and  in- 
distinctly, often  lowering  his  voice  to  a  whis- 
per, wriggles  himself  out  of  his  chair,  to  all 
appearance  quite  lost  in  his  train  of  ideas. 

"  Oct.  31.  To-day  T.  and  I  were  matric- 
ulated, with  a  crowd  of  others.  The  little 
dump  of  a  rector  made  an  eloquent  address  on 
the  importance  of  observing  the  laws,  and  gave 
us  the  usual  right  hand  of  fellowship. 

"Nov.  1.  In  afternoon  heard  Lepsius  on 
History  of  Egypt.  Much  pleased  with  matter 
and  manner.  No  flourish,  but  a  practical 
way  of  urging  without  pretense  what  he  felt 
was  worth  being  said.  A  younger  man  than 
I  expected. 

"  Nov.  3.     Heard  Althaus  on  Hegel. 

"  Nov.  5.    In  the  evening  went  with  Vose 


BERLIN.  95 

across  the  bridge  to  Nitzsch's  house.  In 
the  courtyard  students  were  assembled  with 
torches  and  a  band  of  music,  which  played  as 
they  sung.  The  Professor  made  a  short 
speech  from  the  window.  The  students  again 
sang,  the  music  played,  the  torches  were  thrown 
in  a  heap.  Gaudeamus  igitur  was  sung,  and 
we  dispersed. 

"  Nov.  18,  Sunday.  Attended  the  prayer- 
meeting  in  Tiffany's  room. 

"  Dec.  1.  In  the  evening,  while  reading, 
a  poor  girl  came  and  begged  for  food,  as  one 
did  a  week  since.  It  makes  the  heart  sick 
to  witness  the  poverty  and  suffering  here. 
Hardly  a  day  passes  that  I  do  not  have  some 
call  at  my  room  for  relief. 

"  Dec.  2.  In  the  afternoon  went  to  hunt 
up  two  girls  who  had  been  here  begging  and 
whose  address  I  had  taken.  Found  no  trace 
of  one.  The  other  lived  in  a  little  dark  court ; 
a  man,  woman,  and  five  children.  Mother 
and  two  children  at  home.  The  mother  told 
me  that  her  husband  was  a  tailor,  that  he 
could  not  always  find  work,  and  that  when 
he  did,  got  but  twenty  cents  a  day.  But  the 
family  below  did  not  give  him  a  good  charac- 
ter, and  I  could  not  exactly  satisfy  myself 
that  they  were  fit  objects  of  charity. 


96  MEMOIRS. 

"  Dec.  6.  This  evening,  instead  of  hear- 
ing Nitzsch,  heard  Ritter,  the  great  geogra- 
pher. Splendid-looking  old  man ;  white  hair, 
lofty  forehead,  large  and  most  liberal  collar. 
Spoke  of  the  knowledge  the  Romans  had  of 
Germany,  their  excursions  for  amber  to  the 
North  Sea.  Not  highly  of  the  geographical 
and  historical  value  of  Tacitus'  Germania. 

"Jan.  5.  This  afternoon  T.  and  I  called 
on  Trendelenburg.  He  received  us  with  great 
kindness,  and  entered  into  a  long  conversation. 
Said  that  he  did  not  hold  with  Erdmann 
to  German  philosophy  as  most  perfect,  and 
thought  that  true  philosophy  would  be  a 
mingling  of  the  thought  of  all  nations,  and 
peculiar  to  none. 

"  Jan.  7.  This  evening  attended  with 
Tiffany  the  first  lecture  before  the  Evange- 
lische  Verem,  by  Professor  Hegel  of  Rostock, 
on  the  Missions  to  the  Germans.  Merely  a 
historical  epitome,  with  a  single  reference  to 
Bunsen's  attack  upon  Boniface. 

"  Jan.  13.  Finished  my  first  sermon,  which 
I  have  been  busy  over  all  the  week.  This 
evening  Tiffany,  Davis,  and  I  took  tea  with 
Professor  Trendelenburg.  Quite  a  large  party 
of  students  assembled.  Saw  his  wife  and 
sister.     Sat  by  his  side  at  table,  and  had  a 


CONVERSATION  WITH  STRAUSS.  97 

long  conversation  about  the  discovery  of  the 
new  Greek  book,  which  is  now  exciting  so 
much  interest  among  literary  men. 

"Jan.  20.  At  the  meeting  this  evening 
we  had  a  long  conversation  on  the  need  of  a 
deep  religious  experience  as  a  preparation  for 
preaching.  Afterwards  Loomis  and  Tiffany 
took  tea  with  me,  and  we  passed  the  evening 
in  discussing  our  theological  opinions  in  view 
of  our  approaching  examinations. 

"  Jan.  22.  This  afternoon  heard  Von 
Raumer  on  the  reign  and  character  and  mis- 
tresses of  Louis  XIV.  Only  ten  present. 
Nothing  striking  in  his  appearance  or  manner, 
or  much  in  handling  the  subject. 

"  Jan.  30.  This  afternoon  went  with 
Tiffany  and  passed  an  hour  with  Privat-doc. 
Strauss.  Met  his  father  the  preacher,  and  a 
certain  major,  all  very  pious  and  orthodox. 
Over  coffee  and  cigars  we  discussed  the  con- 
dition and  prospects  of  religion.  Conversation 
turned  first  on  their  mission  in  Jerusalem, 
then  to  the  Baptists.  They  all  agreed  with 
Stahl  that  no  proselyting  should  be  permit- 
ted. Spoke  of  a  great  revival  of  religion  that 
took  place  here  thirty  years  ago,  since  which 
time,  they  said,  the  condition  of  the  Prussian 
churches  had  been  constantly  improving. 


98  MEMOIRS. 

"Feb.  12.  Been  all  day  writing  an  account 
of  the  Bunsen  and  state  controversy  for  the 
Bib.  Sacra." 

This  review  of  Bunsen's  book  on  the  "  Signs 
of  the  Times,"  covering  five  closely  printed 
pages,  appeared  in  the  Bibliotheca  Sacra  for 
April,  1856.  To  it  is  added  an  account  of 
forged  manuscript  of  Srmonides,  the  "  new 
Greek  book  "  referred  to,  which  a  committee 
of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Berlin  had  pro- 
nounced genuine,  but  which  the  learning  of 
Lepsius  detected  as  spurious. 

"Feb.  17.  In  the  evening  we  were  at 
Professor  Trendelenburg's.  At  the  table  sat 
by  the  side  of  Mrs.  T.,  and  had  a  most 
pleasant  conversation  about  the  Germans  in 
America,  church  music,  Luther's  hymns,  etc. 
The  Professor  showed  us  a  late  Bib.  Sacra, 
which  had  an  article  from  Angell  on  Geibel, 
over  which  Mrs.  Trendelenburg  made  herself 
quite  merry  on  account  of  blunders  in  the 
printing  of  German  words.  At  the  close  of 
the  evening,  when  the  conversation  had  turned 
on  political  theories,  I  astonished  them  all  by 
an  assertion  of  the  necessity  of  parties  to  a 
free  government,  weil  gerade  deswegen  ist  es 
naturlich  und  gesund.  The  Professor  at  first 
denied,  but  when  I  had  explained,  acknowl- 
edged that  there  was  something  in  it. 


LAST  WEEKS  IN  BERLIN.  99 

11  Feb.  22.  This  evening  heard  with  great 
delight  the  beautiful  opera  of  Orpheus  and 
Eurydice,  by  Gluck.  All  the  parts  were  by 
females,  that  of  Orpheus  by  Wagner.  She 
appeared  to  great  advantage  in  classical  dress, 
and  sung  beautifully. 

"  Feb.  24.  In  the  morning  enjoyed  very 
much  a  sermon  from  Nitzsch  on  the  tempta- 
tion of  Peter.  In  the  evening  at  our  meeting 
we  had  a  long  discussion  about  the  Christian 
year,  and  Liturgies. 

"  March  5.  In  the  afternoon  with  Davis 
and  Tiffany  to  coffee  with  Dr.  Strauss.  Met 
there  a  number  of  gentlemen.  We  had  a  warm 
discussion  about  the  Evangelical  Alliance. 
Strauss  could  not  join  it  because  it  was  too 
strong  against  the  Catholics,  and  too  much  in 
favor  of  religious  freedom.  He  wished  to  see 
the  alliance  a  confederacy  of  churches,  and 
not  of  individuals.  The  Moravian  minister 
exposed  the  sins  of  state  churches,  especially 
in  reference  to  the  sacraments,  and  strongly 
urged  the  rights  of  personality,  urging  that 
Heaven  would  consist  of  individuals  not 
of  churches. 

"  March  9.  Had  our  usual  prayer  meeting 
at  six.  All  felt  deep  regret  that  it  was  the 
last.     Called    on    the  Trendelenburgs  to  bid 


100  MEMOIRS. 

good-bye.  Had  a  pleasant  chat  as  usual  with 
Mrs.  Trendelenburg." 

And  so  ends  Berlin,  and  with  it  student 
life  in  Germany. 

"  There  was  much  in  Berlin,"  writes  Rev. 
C.  C.  Tiffany,  "  to  develop  the  aesthetic  as  well 
as  the  philosophical  side  of  Diman's  mind, 
and  traces  of  it  may  be  found  in  the  elegance 
which  characterized  every  sentence  he  wrote. 
We  saw  less  student  life,  but  in  company  we 
studied  Kugler's  hand-book  of  art,  and  then 
on  Saturdays  walked  up  and  down  the  admi- 
rable museum  of  pictures  to  illustrate  our 
reading.  We  often  went  to  the  Beethoven 
concerts,  and  the  finer  operas,  and  learned  to 
know  what  true  musical  interpretation  meant. 
We  were  often  at  the  embassy,  where  Gov. 
Vroom,  our  minister,  dispensed  frequent  hospi- 
tality, and  where  we  met  members  of  the  dip- 
lomatic corps.  Indeed,  this  winter  at  Berlin 
had  a  cosmopolitan  influence.  It  ended  the 
purely  student  life  of  Lewis  Diman,  but  was 
a  fitting  capstone  to  the  culture  which  it 
crowned." 

March  10,  Mr.  Diman  and  Mr.  Tiffany 
took  their  way  toward  Paris.  Wittenberg  and 
Weimar  were  visited,  and  a  day  spent  with  the 
friends  in  Halle.     At  Eisenach  they  "  climbed 


JOURNEY  TOWARD  PARIS.  101 

the  Wartburg  ;  saw  first  in  the  castle  the  rooms 
which  are  being  piously  restored  to  the  old 
Byzantine  style.  Among  them  the  hall  in 
which  the  famous  contest  of  the  Minnesin- 
gers took  place,  which  we  had  seen  represented 
in  the  Tannhauser.  Then  saw  the  room 
which  Luther  used,  which  is  in  its  original 
condition,  and  is  very  uncomfortable-looking. 
From  the  windows  of  the  castle  a  beautiful 
prospect  in  all  directions.  Fine  hills  covered 
with  woods."  Thence  they  pursued  their  way 
to  Brussels,  stopping  at  the  places  of  interest 
on  the  way. 

"  March  18.  Spent  the  day  at  Waterloo. 
Greatly  interested  in  fighting  the  battle  over 
again." 

Three  busy  weeks  were  spent  in  Paris. 

''March  23.  This  morning  we  went  to 
Notre  Dame,  to  hear  grand  mass  performed 
by  the  archbishop.  The  church  was  crowded. 
We  made  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  obtain 
places  for  the  Te  Deum  which  followed,  for 
the  birth  of  the  imperial  prince,  who  to-day 
completes  his  first  week. 

"  March  24.  After  a  day  of  sight-seeing 
for  an  hour  or  two  before  dinner,  I  strolled 
about  in  the  garden  of  the  Tuileries,  watching 
the  boys  sailing  their  boats  in  the  basins  of 


102  MEMOIRS. 

the  fountains ;  the  gold  fish  that  put  their 
noses  out  of  the  water  to  nibble  crumbs,  and 
the  swans.  In  the  evening  we  went  to  the 
Italian  opera  to  hear  Grisi  and  Mario,  in  Lu- 
cretia  Borgia.  Disappointed  in  Grisi,  but 
much  pleased  with  Mario.  The  house  itself 
seemed  very  small  and  mean  in  comparison 
with  the  opera-house  at  Berlin. 

"  April  1.  We  went  to-day  at  twelve  over 
to  the  Champs  de  Mars  to  see  a  grand  review 
in  honor  of  the  peace.  The  streets  all  the 
way  crowded  with  troops,  and  citizens  hasten- 
ing: to  the  scene.  We  found  the  vast  enclos- 
ure  densely  crowded  with  people.  Had  a 
pressing  experience  of  a  Paris  crowd  ;  found 
them  very  good-natured  and  jovial.  In- 
tensely hot,  and  obliged  to  wait  an  hour  and 
a  half  before  the  Emperor  came  on  the  ground. 
He  arrived  at  half  past  one,  accompanied  by 
a  numerous  and  brilliant  staff,  including 
the  plenipotentiaries  of  the  Peace  Congress. 
After  riding  along  the  vast  lines  of  troops  he 
took  his  stand  in  front  of  the  military  school, 
and  the  troops  marched  before  him.  The 
scene  was  splendid  and  impressive.  There 
seemed  no  end  to  the  long  ranks  of  infantry, 
the  rattling  artillery,  and  the  glittering  cav- 
alry.    More  than  50,000  in  all.     In  the  even- 


MAURICE  AT  LINCOLN'S  INN.  103 

iii£  walked  the  boulevards  with  Wilcox  to  see 
the  illuminations,  like  our  4th  of  July." 

Numerous  visits  to  the  Louvre  are  recorded, 
and  special  mention  made  of  the  pictures  ad- 
mired ;  but  "  on  the  whole,"  he  writes,  "  I  have 
not  found  in  the  gallery  of  the  Louvre  so 
much  enjoyment  as  in  the  other  large  galleries 
I  have  visited." 

"April  7.  Went  to  the  Sorbonne,  and 
attended  a  lecture  on  astronomy.  Found  stu- 
dents and  lecture  were  much  the  same  as  in 
Germany." 

April  9,  the  two  students  left  Paris  for 
London,  where  a  busy  fortnight  was  spent. 

"April  12.  Walked  through  St.  James 
and  Hyde  Park,  and  as  we  were  coming  back 
met  the  Queen  and  received  a  bow  from  her. 
Noticed  that  her  Majesty  had  a  very  red  nose. 
Found  cards  from  the  Lord  Mayor  to  dinner 
on  Thursday  to  meet  the  American  minister. 

"  April  13.  In  the  afternoon  went  to  Lin- 
coln's Inn  and  heard  Maurice.  He  preached 
on  John  v.  1—20.  Sermon  was  very  simple 
but  not  very  clear,  especially  with  reference  to 
what  was  meant  by  the  angel.  His  tone  was 
earnest  and  sincere,  and  on  the  whole  I  was 
much  delighted.  His  appearance  is  pleasing, 
and  corresponds  to  the  idea  that  I  had  formed 


104  MEMOIRS. 

from  his  writings.  The  psalms  were  beauti- 
fully chanted  by  a  double  choir  of  men  and 
boys  standing  on  opposite  sides  of  the  chapel 
and  responding  to  each  other.  The  responses 
and  amens  of  the  clerk  here,  as  at  the  morn- 
ing service,  were  a  jar.  The  chapel  is  interest- 
ing, the  main  window  being  made  of  the  arms 
of  old  officers  of  the  society.  Beneath  we 
noticed  a  crypt  with  finely  ribbed  vaulting. 
Lincoln's  Inn  Fields  looked  very  pleasant  in 
their  dress  of  early  spring." 

Of  Maurice,  Mr.  Diman  wrote  later :  "  No 
one  could  forget,  who  had  ever  heard  those 
sad  sonorous  tones  that  used  to  fill  the  chapel 
of  Lincoln's  Inn,  tones  at  once  charged  with 
humility  and  with  conviction,  as  if  almost 
shrinking  from  giving  audible  expression  to 
verities  which  the  heart  accepted  and  loved." 

"  April  14.  Attended  a  meeting  at  Willis' 
rooms  in  behalf  of  Christian  missions  in  Tur- 
key, the  Earl  of  Shaftesbury  in  the  chair. 
Heard  speeches  from  Sir  Robert  Grosvenor 
and  others,  all  warmly  eulogizing  the  labors 
of  the  American  Board,  and  expressing  the 
most  cordial  feelings  toward  America. 

"April  16.  Met  by  appointment  Rev.  Mr. 
Malone,  and  with  him  went  to  the  worst  parts 
of  Westminster,  visiting  the  industrial  school 


LONDON.  105 

for  boys,  the  ragged  schools,  the  washing 
and  bathing  house,  the  reformatory,  and  the 
asylum  for  destitute  girls.  Examined  with 
especial  care  the  reformatory,  which  will  hold 
about  100,  but  now  has  only  16.  Only 
voluntary  inmates  are  admitted,  who  must 
undergo  a  fortnight's  probation,  and  after  a 
year's  residence  are  generally  sent  abroad." 

The  Lord  Mayor's  dinner  is  described,  and 
many  expeditions  in  and  about  London. 

"  April  25.  Went  to  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, where  we  heard  a  great  many  amusing 
complaints  growing  out  of  the  late  naval  re- 
view. Heard  Lord  Pahnerston,  Sir  Charles 
Ward,  and  others.  Saw  Lord  John  Russell, 
Disraeli,  etc. 

"  May  1.  My  25th  birthday.  A  dark  rainy 
day.  We  went  this  morning  into  the  city 
and  made  arrangements  to  ship  our  trunks  to 
Liverpool.  Afterwards  to  J.  B.  Ford's,  Old 
Bond  St.,  where  I  secured  a  berth  in  the 
steamer  Niagara  to  sail  on  the  24th  for  Bos- 
ton. Then  to  the  London  bridge,  where  we 
took  steamer  for  Greenwich.  At  home  all 
the  evening  packing  my  trunk,  rejoiced  to 
think  that  it  was  the  last  time.  And  so  ends 
life  in  London." 

The  remaining  twenty-four  days  of  the  stay 


106  MEMOIRS. 

were  spent  in  rapid  travel  in  England  and 
Scotland. 

"  May  2.  To  Royston  near  Cambridge,  to 
visit  our  old  Halle  friend,  Simon. 

"  May  4.  Royston.  Preached  in  morn- 
ing my  first  sermon." 

Warwick,  Stratford,  Kenil worth,  Rugby, 
and  Chatsworth  follow,  and  May  10th  "ar- 
rived at  York.  Saw  the  minster  and  chap- 
ter house,  castle,  and  ruins  of  St.  Mary's 
Abbey." 

Thence  by  way  of  Newcastle,  Berwick,  Mel- 
rose and  Abbotsford,  to  Edinburgh,  where  a 
couple  of  days  were  spent.  A  little  trip  in 
the  Highlands  followed. 

"  May  16.  After  a  day  of  travel,  had  time 
to  walk  down  to  Loch  Katrine  and  see  a  fine 
sunset."  Three  days  were  spent  in  walking 
and  rowing  on  the  lochs,  and  the  short  stay 
among  the  English  lakes. 

"  May  20.  After  dinner  had  a  fine  row  on 
Derwentwater. 

"  May  21.  Had  a  pull  on  Lake  Winder- 
mere. 

"  May  22.  Foggy  and  rainy.  Rode  to 
Windermere  and  took  train  to  Liverpool. 

"  May  24.  Bade  Tiffany  farewell,  my  com- 
panion for  nearly  two  years,  and  sailed  for 
home  in  Cunard  steamer  Niagara. 


RETURN  HOME.  107 

"  June  5.  Reached  Boston  at  sunrise.  Met 
father  at  the  Tremont  House;  at  half  past 
ten  went  with  him  by  train  to  Providence.  So 
ended  the  long  dream  of  my  student  life 
abroad." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

1856-1860.    aet.  25-29. 

Licensed  to  preach  by  the  Essex  South  Association.  —  Sor- 
row. —  First  Congregational  Church  in  Fall  River.  —  Let- 
ters to  Miss  Emily  G.  Stimson  —  To  Rev.  J.  O.  Murray  — 
To  Dr.  Shepard.  —  Calls  to  other  Churches.  —  Correspon- 
dence with  Dr.  Horace  Bushnell.  —  Call  to  Hartford  de- 
clined. —  To  Rev.  J.  O.  Murray.  —  Manner  in  the  Pulpit. 
—  Letters  to  Miss  Emily  G.  Stimson.  —  State  of  Mind.  — 
Human  Destiny.  —  Dr.  Bellow's  Sermons.  —  Jacqueline 
Pascal.  —  Robertson.  —  Clarendon.  —  Theodore  Parker.  — 
Pascal.  —  Resignation  of  the  Pastorate.  —  Death  of  Mr. 
Stimson. 

At  Salem,  Massachusetts,  on  the  1st  of 
July,  1856,  there  was  a  meeting  of  the  Essex 
South  Association  of  Ministers,  "  whose  views 
of  evangelical  truth  accord  substantially  with 
those  of  the  Westminster  Assembly  of  Di- 
vines." By  this  association  Mr.  Diman  was 
licensed  to  preach,  "  having  been  carefully 
examined  in  regard  to  his  Christian  character, 
the  soundness  of  his  faith,  his  acquaintance 
with  theology  and  literature,  and  his  ability 
to  teach." 

The  Old  South  Church  in  Boston,  and  the 


FALL  RIVER.  109 

First  Congregational  Church  in  Fall  River 
sought  to  secure  him.  It  was  at  this  time 
that  a  great  sorrow  came  to  him,  in  the 
sudden  death  of  Miss  Maria  R.  Stimson,  to 
whom  he  was  engaged  to  be  married.  This 
grief,  for  the  time,  darkened  his  life,  till,  as 
he  himself  said,  God  led  him  "  by  paths  he 
had  not  known  "  into  the  serene  happiness  of 
after  years. 

In  deference  to  Mr.  Diman's  bereavement, 
the  church  at  Fall  River  withheld  their  call 
for  several  weeks,  "  but  when  at  length  it  was 
made,"  Mr.  Diman  writes  at  the  end  of  Sep- 
tember, "  I  did  not  feel  justified  in  subjecting 
them  to  any  further  delay.  I  have  accord- 
ingly accepted  their  invitation."  He  entered 
upon  his  new  duties  at  once,  and  on  the  9th 
of  December  was  ordained  as  pastor. 

The  following  letters  show  the  spirit  in 
which  he  began  his  labors  :  — 

TO    MISS    EMILY    G.    STIMSON. 

Fall  River,  December  21,  1856. 

.  .  .  Another  Sabbath  day  is  passed,  to  me 
a  season  of  high  enjoyment,  so  that  I  begin 
already  to  look  forward  with  impatience  to 
the  next,  when  I  shall  again  be  permitted 
to   preach  the  Word  of   Life.      My  sermon 


110  MEMOIRS. 

this  morning  was  especially  addressed  to  the 
church,  from  John  xv.  5.  I  have  had  a  pretty 
busy  day,  and  have  preached  twice,  conducted 
a  third  service  this  evening,  making  some  ex- 
temporaneous remarks,  been  into  the  Sabbath 
school,  and  have  made,  besides,  five  pastoral 
visits  among  my  sick.  But  I  am  not  tired. 
It  is  labor  that  carries  with  it  every  moment 
its  own  exceeding  great  reward,  and  every  day 
I  bless  more  and  more  that  Providence  which 
has  made  me  a  minister  of  Jesus  Christ.  .  .  . 
I  feel  very  often  my  own  great  deficiencies, 
and  pray  for  a  deeper  experience  in  my  own 
heart,  and  for  a  more  entire  consecration.  If 
I  am  to  expect  the  blessing  of  God  upon  my 
labors,  my  meat  and  my  drink  must  be  to  do 
his  will.  .  .  .  Hopeless,  indeed,  would  the 
task  seem  if  the  conversion  of  men  rested 
on  our  efforts  alone.  There  is  another  and 
mightier  power  which  alone  can  render  the 
truth  effectual. 

TO    THE    REV.    JAMES    O.    MURRAY. 

Fall  River,  February  16,  1857. 
.  .   .  The  first  months  of  pastoral  life  come 
laden  with  many  cares  ;  in  my  own  case,  per- 
haps, with  an  unusual  number,  as  there  has 
been  a  great  amount  of  sickness  in  the  parish. 


FIRST  MONTHS  OF  PASTORAL  LIFE.     Ill 

It  was  work,  however,  full  of  the  highest  con- 
solations, for  my  own  sadness  was  soothed  by 
the  thought  that  I  was  doing  what  I  could  to 
lessen  that  of  others.  You  can  imagine  what 
a  new  chapter  it  opened  in  life,  to  assume  the 
solemn  duties  of  the  ministry,  and  in  the  first 
week  to  stand  at  three  dying  bedsides. 

The  course  which  everything  has  taken  has 
been  in  the  highest  degree  gratifying,  and  I 
am  not  aware  of  a  single  circumstance  that 
should  cause  me  to  regret  my  decision  in 
coming  here.  In  the  church  everything  is 
harmonious,  and  in  the  congregation  there  has 
been  a  decided  increase.  There  are  indica- 
tions of  a  deeper  seriousness  than  usual. 

My  first  Sunday  was  signalized  by  the  in- 
auguration of  a  new  order  of  morning  service, 
which  has  given  great  satisfaction,  and  adds 
to  the  interest  of  public  worship.  I  shall 
eventually  make  still  further  modifications. 

Parish  duties  break  in  necessarily  to  some 
extent  upon  the  hours  of  study,  but  the  long 
winter  evenings  have  given  me  opportunity  to 
prosecute  a  plan,  which  I  entered  upon  while 
abroad,  to  perfect  my  acquaintance  with  the 
spirit  and  thought  of  the  apostolic  age.  To 
this  end  I  have  read  Barnabas  and  Clemens, 
and  design  going  through  with  the  Apostolic 


112  MEMOIRS. 

Aers  in  course.  They  yield  nothing  be- 
yond a  more  vivid  conception  of  the  early 
Christianity,  and  how  different  in  its  whole 
mode  of  thought  and  doctrine  from  our  own. 
Genesis,  too.  has  claimed  more  of  my  attention 
in  connection  with  Ewald's  History.  I  con- 
gratulate myself  that  on  many  of  these  ques- 
tions I  was  not  subjected  to  the  strict  exami- 
nation which  would  have  awaited  me  in  Bos- 
ton. 

The  baptismal  font,  to  which  the  following 
letter  refers,  still  stands  in  the  Congregational 
church  at  Bristol. 

TO    REV.    THOMAS    SHEPARD,    D.  D. 

Fall  Rjvle,  January  18, 1857. 

PiEverexi)  a:st)  Dear  Sir.  —  As  a  token 
of  mv  undiminished  interest  in  the  church  to 
which  for  nearly  two  centuries  my  ancestors 
have  belonged,  and  of  which  for  fifty  years 
my  grandfather  was  pastor,  I  ask  leave  to 
present  to  it  this  baptismal  font.  May  it  do 
something  to  connect  the  past  with  the  future, 
and  to  keep  alive  with  those  who  shall  come 
after  us  the  remembrance  of  those  who  have 
gone  before. 


MEDITATING  UPON  TRUTH.  113 

TO    MISS    EMILY    G.    BTTMSON. 

Fall  RrvER,  April  14,  1851 

If  it  were  only  as  easy  to  write  as  to  talk, 
then  what  a  famous  correspondent  I  should 
be,  —  but,  alas,  the  pen  is  not  the  tongue  — 
which  scribbles  away  merrily  on  the  ear,  with- 
out the  preliminary  ceremony  of  being  dipped 
into  an  inkstand.  These  sober  reflections  have 
been  suggested  to  me  by  the  contemplation  of 
some  dozen  letters  in  my  drawer,  now  waiting 
patiently  to  be  answered. 

I  have  thouoht  a  o-ood  deal  about  the  sub- 
ject  of  our  conversation  one  morning  last 
week,  the  use,  or  rather  the  necessity  of  medi- 
tating upon  truth,  or  to  me  a  word  which  you 
did  not  seem  to  relish,  doctrine.  .  .  .  These 
questions  are  not  empty  speculations,  like 
many  of  the  questions  of  philosophy,  but  spring 
by  an  immediate  and  irresistible  necessity  from 
the  practical  demands  of  our  moral  nature. 
Augustin,  Pascal,  Edwards,  John  Foster,  were 
not  led  to  ponder  these  subjects  by  mere  curi- 
osity, they  were  absolutely  driven  to  them  by 
an  inward  experience  of  sublime  energy.  Just 
in  proportion  as  the  moral  faculties  are  devel- 
oped will  these  questions  force  themselves  upon 
the  mind  for  solution.     It  avails  nothing  to 


114  MEMOIRS. 

say  they  can  never  be  solved.  We  are  not  so 
much  led  to  them  by  the  expectation  of  defi- 
nite and  practical  results,  as  driven  to  them  by 
an  inward  impulse  of  our  nature.  It  is  not  so 
much  the  truth  itself  as  the  search  after  it, 
the  exciting  and  vigorous  exercise  of  all  our 
faculties  that  does  us  good. 

Then  the  emotions,  though  they  are  the 
basis  of  religion,  can  never  furnish  the  highest 
development  of  religious  life.  The  soul  needs 
also  to  breathe  the  bracing  atmosphere  of 
thought.  It  needs  for  its  own  healthful 
growth  to  meditate  upon  these  great  ques- 
tions, which,  though  they  lie  out  of  the  circle 
of  immediate  practical  usefulness,  yet  exercise 
a  mighty  influence  over  the  whole  develop- 
ment of  thought  and  character. 

TO    REV.    JAMES    O.    MURRAY. 

Fall  River,  February  18,  1858. 

.  .  .  With  changes  all  about  us  so  sudden, 
and  so  overwhelming,  who  can  look  with  any 
confidence  to  the  future.  For  my  own  part  I 
have  renounced  all  day-dreams  and  castle- 
building.  I  think  often  of  the  striking  anec- 
dote of  the  old  monk  at  Madrid,  pointing  to 
the  picture  on  the  altar,  from  which  the  forms 
stood  out  with  the  freshness  of  life,  and  saying 


CHURCH  RELATIONS.  115 

"  that  as  he  thought  how  all  his  companions 
one  by  one  had  been  taken  away,  it  seemed  as 
if  they  were  the  shadows  and  these  figures  the 
realities."  ...  To  tell  the  truth,  I  am  more 
sober  for  having  recently  been  reading  the 
"  Life  and  Letters  of  Byron,"  which,  by  the 
way,  have  given  me  a  far  deeper  sympathy 
with  him  than  his  poetry  ever  awakened. 

My  own  work  goes  on  as  usual.  Respecting 
the  matter  which  we  discussed  together  I  am 
no  nearer  a  conclusion.  That  by  changing 
my  church  relations  I  should  be  more  useful 
or  happy,  is  by  no  means  clear.  At  times  I 
think  we  make  most  progress  when  dissatisfied 
and  yearning.  Content  in  this  life  is  often 
but  another  name  for  spiritual  torpor.   .   .   . 

The  matter  under  discussion  was  the  advisa- 
bility of  Mr.  Diman's  entering  the  Episcopal 
Church.  Toward  it  he  had  strong  inclination, 
and  for  several  years  the  question  occupied  his 
mind.  The  beauty  of  the  liturgy  attracted 
him,  the  "  decency  and  order  "  of  the  service 
was  grateful  to  his  reverent  mind.  Through- 
out his  life  he  held  that  the  communion  service 
of  the  Church  expressed  his  own  views  more 
fully  than  any  treatise  on  the  Atonement. 
This  service,  and  the  chapter  on  Justification, 
in  Barclay's  Apology,  he  once  recommended 


116  MEMOIRS. 

as  being  the  most  complete  and  spiritual  ex- 
positions of  the  great  truths  of  Christianity. 

While  in  Fall  River  several  churches  tried 
to  obtain  Mr.  Diman's  services.  The  Hugue- 
not Church  of  Charleston,  S.  C,  approached 
him  on  the  subject,  in  the  autumn  of  1857. 
The  next  year  he  was  desired  to  confer  with 
certain  gentlemen  who  visited  him  on  behalf 
of  the  Mercer  Street  Presbyterian  Church  of 
New  York.  The  following  year  the  Shawmut 
Street  Church  of  Boston  sought  him.  All 
these  offers  were  promptly  refused  on  the 
ground  that  Mr.  Diman  did  not  feel  at  liberty 
to  take  any  step  toward  severing  his  connection 
with  his  parish,  having  been  in  it  so  short  a 
time. 

A  call  which  made  more  impression  upon 
him  was  from  Hartford  in  1858.  In  the 
spring  of  that  year  Dr.  Horace  Bushnell  vis- 
ited Fall  River.  Dr.  Bushnell's  failing  health 
made  it  necessary  that  he  should  have  a  col- 
league. He  admired  Mr.  Diman  greatly,  and 
desired  him  to  take  the  office. 

FROM    DR.    BUSHNELL. 

Hartford,  May  31,  1858. 
I  know   not  how  it  is,  but  I   have  taken 
to  you  with  a  feeling  I  never  expected  to 


LETTER  FROM  DR.  BUSHNELL.  117 

have  toward  any  one  who  might  come  into 
such  a  peculiar  relation,  and  finally  take  my 
place.  I  think  I  am  drawn  to  you  thus  by  a 
higher  than  merely  human  affinity,  by  the  pri- 
vate impulse  of  God.  So  that  if  only  I  had  a 
mantle,  I  should  be  quite  ready  to  put  it  on 
you.  .  .  .  The  proposition  is  that  while  I  re- 
tain the  name  of  jiastor,  in  accordance  with 
the  wish  of  my  people,  and  you  take  the  place 
of  associate  pastor,  it  be  understood,  as  be- 
tween us,  for  nobody  else  can  settle  any  such 
arrangement,  that  you  are  to  be  the  real  re- 
sponsible active  pastor,  only  consulting  me 
when  you  choose,  and  using  me  to  preach  if 
I  am  able,  in  such  ways  as  will  best  serve 
your  convenience.  Everything  is  from  the 
first  to  be  in  your  hand.  ...  I  only  add  here 
that  my  symptoms  are  looking  all  the  time  to 
my  speedy  removal.  I  do  not  really  expect 
to  live  for  a  year. 

I  pass  to  the  matters  of  duty,  for  I  am  quite 
willing  with  you  to  throw  out  of  the  question 
all  considerations  of  position,  ambition,  taste 
and  the  like,  and  rest  the  question  wholly  on 
the  matter  of  duty.  God  grant  that  you  may 
have  grace  to  hold  the  question  away  and 
apart  from  every  other  test.  .  .  . 


118  MEMOIRS. 

Then  follow  eight  pages  of  argument  on 
the  question,  ending  with  an  invitation  to 
come  to  Hartford  to  preach. 

TO    DR.    HORACE    BUSHNELL. 

Fall  River,  June  5,  1858. 

You  will  not,  I  am  sure,  suspect  me  of 
any  want  of  courtesy,  when  I  decline  wholly 
to  accede  to  your  proposition  to  preach  in  Hart- 
ford. Under  ordinary  circumstances  nothing 
could  afford  me  greater  pleasure,  hut  while  I 
remain  the  pastor  of  this  church,  I  cannot 
consistently  with  my  own  views  of  honorable 
dealing,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  present 
myself  as  a  candidate  to  any  other.  The 
same  consideration  forces  me  to  decline  your 
kind  invitation  to  visit  you. 

Let  me  add,  too,  that  further  consideration 
has  not  disposed  me  to  recognize  more  than 
at  first  the  conclusions  of  your  arguments,  and 
therefore  if  your  church  chooses  to  proceed 
any  further  in  this  matter,  it  must  be  wholly 
on  their  own  responsibility. 

FROM   DR.    BUSHNELL. 

Hartford,  June  7,  1858. 

Your  note  of  Saturday  is  just  received,  and 
I  must  say  that  I  heartily  respect  your  an- 


CORRESPONDENCE  WITH  DR.  BUSHNELL.  119 

swers  to  my  requests.  ...  As  I  just  now 
read  your  note  to  my  wife  she  said,  as  her 
conclusion,  "  I  like  him  !  "  The  only  thing  I 
do  not  like  is  that  you  make  so  little  of  my 
arguments. 

Dr.  Bushnell  was  too  deeply  interested  in 
the  plan  to  think  of  relinquishing  it,  and  the 
church  proceeded  to  appoint  a  committee  to 
recommend  a  colleague.  This  committee  after 
visiting  Fall  River,  reported  on  the  6th  of 
July,  and  the  church  formally  invited  Mr. 
Diman  to  become  associate  pastor,  "as  a 
man  eminently  endowed  and  qualified  for  that 
office." 

FROM   DR.    BUSHNELL. 

Hartford,  July  8,  1858. 

This  will  introduce  to  your  acquaintance 
my  very  dear  friends  Messrs.  Dunham  and 
Owen,  who  visit  Fall  River  as  delegates  from 
the  church  and  society  to  communicate  the 
call  which  has  just  been  proffered  you.  I 
can  hardly  tell  you  how  great  satisfaction  I 
have  in  this  call,  and  the  perfect  unanimity 
of  it.  ...  I  hope  you  will  assume  whatever 
time  is  necessary  to  a  wise  and  right  decision 
on  your  part.  Meantime,  I  will  invite  you  to 
come  to  Hartford,  and  be  my  guest  for  as  long 


120  MEMOIRS. 

time  as  you  please.  I  should  like  mightily 
to  show  you  into  my  pulpit  Sunday  of  next 
week,  but  you  will  soon  use  your  own  liberty 
in  that  matter.  .  .  .  With  many  prayers  that 
God  will  guide  you  into  a  right  decision,  I 
am  yours  with  great  esteem  and  affection, 

Horace  Bushnell. 

About  the  middle  of  July  Mr.  Diman  ac- 
cepted Dr.  Bushnell's  invitation,  and  went  to 
Hartford.  Among  the  incidents  of  the  visit 
were  the  attentions  of  Dr.  Bushnell's  white 
cat.  Mr.  Diman  encouraged  her  advances  in 
the  evening  twilight,  saying  he  liked  cats, 
and  allowed  her  to  climb  over  his  knees  and 
shoulders.  The  next  morning  he  was  late  at 
family  prayers.  After  half  an  hour's  waiting 
the  family  proceeded  to  breakfast.  At  length 
Mr.  Diman  appeared,  explaining,  as  he  smil- 
ingly pointed  to  the  still  scattered  white  hairs 
on  his  black  suit,  that  the  cat  had  cost  him 
an  hour's  work  with  the  brush,  and  adding 
that  he  should  never  forget  her !  In  later 
years  he  often  told  the  story,  and  laughed 
over  his  embarrassment,  which  was,  indeed, 
serious  for  a  young  minister  who  was  to  ap- 
pear before  an  expectant  congregation. 


CALL   TO  HARTFORD  DECLINED.         121 

TO   DR.    BUSHNELL. 

Fall  River,  August  2,  1858. 

If  I  saw  any  reason  to  suppose  that  longer 
delay  would  modify  my  decision,  I  would 
gladly  withhold  for  the  present  my  answer  to 
the  invitation  of  your  church,  but  my  convic- 
tions since  I  left  Hartford  have  tended  so  per- 
sistently in  one  direction  that  I  feel  persuaded 
a  longer  consideration  on  my  part  would  only 
be  doing  injustice  to  you.  I  have,  therefore, 
to-day,  through  Mr.  Owen,  declined  the  call. 

In  announcing  to  you  this  step,  it  is  hardly 
necessary  to  recapitulate  arguments  which 
have  been  already  fully  discussed.  I  have 
endeavored  throughout  to  keep  my  mind  per- 
fectly open  to  arguments  on  either  side,  but  I 
have  been  at  no  time  able  to  resist  the  firm 
conviction  that  the  claims  of  a  field  where 
experience  had  demonstrated  my  acceptance, 
and  which  held  out  the  promise  of  increasing 
usefulness,  were  too  imperative  to  be  set  aside. 

A  further  study  of  the  present  condition 
of  my  church  convinces  me  that  it  would  be 
largely  detrimental  to  its  interests  to  dissolve 
so  speedily  the  connection  between  us,  and 
believing  that  the  interests  of  a  connection 
already   existing  should  take  precedence    of 


122  MEMOIRS. 

any  other,  I  have    no  alternative  but  the  de- 
cision I  have  made. 


TO    REV.    J.    O.    MURRAY. 

Fall  River,  October  6,  1858. 

...  I  was  much  interested  in  what  you  wrote 
of  your  sermons.  You  have  a  capital  plan 
marked  out,  and  a  rich  vein  to  work  in. 
Oddly -enough,  something  of  the  same  sort  has 
been  running  for  some  time  in  my  own  brain, 
only  the  idea  that  I  had  was  to  present  the 
cardinal  features  of  the  old  dispensation  in 
the  form  of  biographic  studies  of  Moses,  etc. 

For  a  long  time  my  thoughts  have  been 
more  or  less  directed  to  the  study  of  the  rela- 
tion of  the  old  dispensation  to  the  new,  of 
the  Law  and  Grace,  and  I  am  looking  forward 
some  day  to  an  extended  examination  of  the 
Mosaic  system  in  all  its  scope  and  significance. 
There  is  an  element  in  that  old  Hebrew  cul- 
ture that  we  need  to  emphasize  if  we  would 
escape  the  shallow  inanities  of  the  present 
day. 

I  have  been  preaching  with  great  interest 
to  myself,  indeed  I  never  felt  more  in  the 
mood  for  work  than  now,  satisfied  that  I  did 
a  wise  thing  in  remaining  here.  .  .  .  About 
the  De  Civitate  I  think  with  you.     The  fact 


MANNER   IN  THE  PULPIT.  123 

is,  the  folios  of  the  Fathers,  with  much  that 
is  deep  and  true,  are  nevertheless  cart-loads 
of  rubbish. 

Mr.  Diman's  deep  love  and  reverence  for 
the  office  of  preacher  powerfully  affected  his 
congregation.  His  manner  in  the  pulpit  was 
most  grave  and  reverent.  No  hasty  gestures, 
no  unseemly  vehemence  marred  his  chaste, 
severe  delivery.  The  hand,  so  beautifully 
formed,  moved  with  deliberation,  and  almost 
solemnly  emphasized  his  words.  His  utter- 
ance was  somewhat  rapid,  though  very  clear, 
with  a  certain  urgency  which  carried  his  hear- 
ers with  him.  His  voice  was  well  pitched 
and  resonant,  easily  filling  large  spaces.  There 
was  something  peculiar  about  it.  It  seemed 
to  flow  on,  a  continuous  stream  of  sound, 
from  which  the  words  came  perfectly  uttered. 
This  effect  was  due  largely  to  the  cadence 
of  his  sentences.  They  were  rhythmic,  and 
though  his  preaching  was  the  farthest  remove 
from  intoning,  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  voice 
was  plainly  noticeable.  In  his  sermons,  he 
had  a  few  habits,  which  marked  the  deep  re- 
serve which  underlay  his  open  and  frank  man- 
ner. His  congregations  were  not  addressed 
as  "  my  friends,"  but  simply  as  "  my  hearers." 


124  MEMOIRS. 

On  rare  occasions,  warmed  by  the  power  and 
tenderness  of  his  theme,  he  said  "  Beloved," 
using  the  word  as  St.  Paul  does,  "  beloved  in 
the  Lord."  He  usually  spoke  of  Christ  as 
"  Our  Lord,"  but  of  His  titles  none  were  more 
dear  to  him  than  the  "  Son  of  Man." 

TO    MISS    EMILY    G.    STIMSON, 

Mr.  Diman  writes  :  — 

"  When  preaching  gushes  forth  readily  and 
spontaneously,  and  when  all  outward  nature 
seems  in  such  perfect  sympathy  with  it,  it  be- 
comes a  delightful  service.  Some  one  has 
said  that  preaching  ought  to  be  lyrical  and 
musical,  a  flowing  song ;  the  inner  life  pour- 
ing forth  its  full  tide  of  emotion.  To  realize 
this  fully  doubtless  belongs  only  to  the  very 
highest  order  of  spirits,  and  yet  I  have  at 
times  felt  moments  in  my  extemporaneous 
preaching  when  my  subject  seemed  suddenly 
to  seize  me  and  carry  me  beyond  myself.  One 
such  gush  will  redeem  a  whole  sermon,  and  if 
we  led  the  lives  we  should,  with  our  sensibili- 
ties ever  attuned,  and  our  hearts  ever  flowing 
over  with  the  divine  love,  such  states  would  be 
our  natural  states,  a  perpetual  seraphic  ecstasy ; 
so  that  life  itself  would  flow  on  like  a  joyous 
psalm  of  praise." 


LETTERS   TO  MISS  STIMSON.  125 

The  following  passages  from  letters  to  Miss 
Emily  G.  Stimson,  written  in  1859  and  1860, 
give  some  idea  of  the  extent  and  variety  of  Mr. 
Diman's  reading,  and  of  his  state  of  mind, 
which  he  calls  one  of  transition.  Of  these 
"  deeper  questions  of  the  soul,"  which  per- 
plexed him  about  this  period  of  his  life,  he 
afterward  wrote,  "  I  imagine  it  is  an  experience 
through  which  all  young  persons  pass,  whose 
spiritual  nature  is  roused  to  much  activity." 

The  passage  on  human  destiny  is  of  special 
interest,  in  connection  with  the  last  course  of 
lectures  Mr.  Diman  delivered.  "  Is  there 
progress  in  history  ?  "  he  asked.  "  The  ques- 
tion must  be  limited.  There  is  not  progress 
in  all  directions  ;  not  progress  at  all  times  ; 
yet  progress  on  the  whole."  He  then  con- 
fidently went  on  to  show  that  this  progress  is 
moral. 

Critical  studies  of  belief  and  opinion  had 
always  a  great  fascination  for  Mr.  Diman. 
His  candid  mind  saw  the  truth  that  underlay 
error,  and  at  this  period  of  his  life  he  was 
still  laying  the  foundations  of  the  full  and 
deep  convictions  of  maturer  years. 

"  You  doubtless  wonder  what  I  mean  by  a 
disturbance  of  my  ideas.     The  phrase  is  not  a 


126  MEMOIRS. 

very  definite  one,  but  it  expresses  better  than 
anything  else  the  state  of  mind  that  I  seem  to 
be  in.  The  Germans  have  a  phrase  that  hits 
it  exactly,  im  Werden,  that  is,  a  transitional 
state.  Most  of  the  opinions  with  which  I  be- 
gan life  I  have  either  greatly  modified  or 
wholly  given  up,  and  not  yet  attained  to  peace 
and  comfort  in  any  other.  I  used  to  have 
great  faith  in  human  progress  and  the  capac- 
ity of  the  race  for  ultimate  perfectibility,  but 
of  late  my  mind  has  been  a  good  deal  exer- 
cised by  the  totally  opposite  views  of  the  mil- 
lenarians,  who  hold  to  no  solution  of  the 
problem  of  human  destiny  under  the  present 
dispensation,  but  look  for  another.  They 
come  to  a  similar  conclusion  to  that  of  the 
Swedenborgians,  though  they  reach  it  in  a 
very  different  way.  .  .   . 

"  I  am  intensely  interested  in  Dr.  Bellows' 
sermons.  For  a  long  time  I  have  not  seen 
a  book  that  so  reflects  the  phases  of  my  own 
experience.  I  perfectly  sympathize  with  his 
craving  for  an  established  historic  faith,  for  a 
worship  expressive  of  our  refined  religious 
sentiment,  and  not  less  with  his  inability  to 
sympathize  with  any  prevailing  forms.  The 
sermons  are  written  with  great  power." 

Speaking  of  "  Jacqueline  Pascal,"  "  Though 


ROBERTSON'S  SERMONS.  127 

disfigured  to  some  extent  with  the  superstition 
and  false  views  of  Romanism,  yet  it  records 
the  struggles  of  a  noble  soul  in  a  dark  and 
unpropitious  age,  and  has  in  it  that  sublimity 
of  self-consecration,  that  perfect  yielding  up 
of  self  to  God,  of  which  the  Catholic  Church 
presents  us  so  many  examples.  One  feels  ex- 
alted to  a  loftier  state  of  being  when  brought 
into  contact  with  such  a  spirit." 

After  reading  Robertson  :  — 

"  What  greater  satisfaction  can  one  have 
than  in  dying  thus  to  leave  behind  a  book 
that  will  continue  to  minister  to  other  lands 
and  ages.  What  monument  of  brass  or  mar- 
ble can  compare  with  this  ?  I  have  often 
thought  that  of  all  things  I  should  prefer  to 
write  some  little  work  connected  with  man's 
highest  interests,  that  should  live  in  his  love 
and  memory.  How,  for  example,  a  single 
hymn  of  Heber  has  gone  singing  round  the 
world  !  " 

"  So  you  like  Robertson  ? "  Mr.  Diman 
wrote  to  a  friend  some  years  later.  "  He  has 
always  been  a  favorite  of  mine.  Indeed,  among 
recent  preachers  I  do  not  know  of  any  one  I 
would  put  beside  him." 

"  Most  of  the  morning  I  have  spent  in  read- 


128  MEMOIRS. 

ing,  in  the  stately  pages  of  Clarendon,  how  a 
great  and  prosperous  people  were  drawn  step 
by  step  into  a  bloody  civil  war.  The  deep  in- 
terest I  take  in  passing  events,  which  almost 
in  fact  withdraws  me  from  my  proper  studies, 
gives  to  his  sombre  narrative  an  irresistible 
charm.  .  .  .  Clarendon  is  the  Vandyke  of 
historians.  I  cannot  resist  the  feeling  that 
our  own  nation  may  be  entering  on  a  history 
as  tragic.   .  .  . 

"  The  heavy  rain  this  morning  kept  me 
closely  housed,  and  before  a  bright  fire  I  read 
Theodore  Parker's  sermons,  attractive  from 
the  freshness  and  vigor  of  the  style,  and  the 
frank,  outspoken  tone  that  pervades  them, 
but  after  all  unsatisfactory,  as  they  do  not 
meet  our  higher  instincts,  and  leave  untouched 
the  great  mysteries  of  life.  I  turn  from  them 
to  read  the  New  Testament  with  a  new 
relish.   .  .   . 

"  I  have  been  writing  a  sermon  this  morn- 
ing from  Pilate's  words  to  Jesus,  '  What  is 
truth  ?  '  and  am  trying  to  show  that  the  great 
obstacle  to  truth  is  not  honest  doubt  but  world- 
liness  and  indifference.  .  .  .  This  week  have 
devoted  my  evenings  to  Pascal's  Provincial 
Letters.  I  do  it  chiefly  as  an  exercise  in 
French,  but  the  wit,  eloquence,  and  satire  af- 


RESIGNATION  OF  PASTORATE.         129 

ford  me  endless  enjoyment.  I  think  I  shall 
read  next  the  famous  treatise  of  De  Maistre, 
'  Du  Pape,'  the  best  argument  for  an  infalli- 
ble authority  ever  made.   .   .   . 

"  So  we  go  —  who  shall  teach  us  the  way, 
the  truth,  and  the  life.  I  find  myself  turning 
more  and  more  from  controversy  to  a  struggle 
after  personal  holiness.  The  pure  in  heart 
see  God." 

Faxl  River,  January  10,  1860. 

The  die  is  cast  .  .  .  the  Rubicon  crossed. 
Sunday  morning  at  the  close  of  service  I  re- 
quested the  church  to  stop,  and  after  the  con- 
gregation had  gone  out,  coming  down  from 
the  pulpit  and  standing  by  the  communion- 
table, where  we  had  so  often  celebrated  to- 
gether the  Sacrament  of  our  Lord's  death,  I 
resigned  back  the  charge  which  they  had  en- 
trusted to  me.  It  wras  a  solemn  scene.  I 
was  perfectly  calm  when  I  began  to  speak, 
but  as  one  face  after  another  was  bowed  in 
tears,  I  was  warned  not  to  test  my  self-control 
too  far. 

In  January  came  a  severe  blow  in  the  sudden 
death  of  Mr.  John  J.  Stimson  of  Providence. 


130  MEMOIRS. 

TO    REV.    J.    O.    MURRAY. 

Fall  River,  January  27,  1860. 

...  I  could  not  feel  the  loss  more  deeply 
were  it  my  own  father.  Indeed,  for  nearly  ten 
years  Mr.  Stimson,  has  been  a  father  to  me. 
It  is  a  great  comfort  to  me  to  think  that  my 
relations  to  E.  had  all  been  definitely  fixed, 
and  had  received  his  cordial  approbation  and 
blessing.  How  his  death  will  affect  my  plans 
for  the  future  does  not  yet  appear.  .  .  .  But 
I  feel  willing  to  leave  all  in  the  hands  of  God, 
who  so  strangely  leads  us  by  paths  we  have 
not  known. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

1860-1864.     aet.  29-33. 

Marriage.  —  Harvard    Congregational    Church,     Brookline. 

—  Examination.  — View  of  the  Atonement.  —  The  Human- 
ity of  Christ.  —  The  Incarnation.  —  Divine  Life  in  Human 
Nature.  —  Statements  of  Truth.  —  The  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Ghost.  —  The  Council.  —  Letters  to  Dr.  Rufus  Ellis. 

—  Dissension  in  the  Church.  —  Letter  to  Henry  W.  Diman. 

—  Comments  of  Professor  George  P.  Fisher. 

On  May  15,  1860,  Mr.  Diman  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Emily  G.  Stimson,  daughter  of 
Mr.  John  J.  Stimson,  of  Providence,  and  the 
home  was  begun  which  Mr.  Diman  counted 
"  next  to  that  faith  without  which  all  earthly 
blessings  are  but  curses  in  disguise,"  the  chief 
cause  of  thankfulness. 

He  had  lately  accepted  a  call  to  the  Har- 
vard Congregational  Church  in  Brookline, 
Mass.,  and  it  was  there  that  he  took  his  bride. 
We  have  seen  that  he  congratulated  himself 
"  that  on  many  of  these  questions"  —  Genesis 
and  the  doctrines  of  early  Christianity  — 
"  I  was  not  subjected  to  the  strict  examination 
which  would  have  awaited  me  in  Boston." 


132  MEMOIRS. 

That  strict  examination  came  before  his  or- 
dination as  pastor  in  Brookline.  The  man 
who  did  not  hesitate  to  declare  that  the  "  fo- 
lios of  the  Fathers,  with  much  that  is  deep 
and  true,  are  nevertheless  cart-loads  of  rub- 
bish," could  not  be  expected  to  be  bound  by 
the  conventions  of  orthodoxy,  as  held  by  "  the 
hair-splitting  theologians  of  New  England." 
In  the  "  deep  view,"  which  he  says  he  loved, 
and  "  the  constant  struggle  after  unity,"  he 
refused  to  recognize  Congregationalism  as 
the  one  church  indicated  by  the  Apostles,  an- 
swering, to  the  confusion  of  his  questioners, 
when  asked  what  church  then  was  indicated, 
"  Without  doubt  Episcopacy."  But  the  main 
trouble  was  with  what  was  at  that  time  con- 
sidered his  unorthodox  view  of  the  Atone- 
ment. Five  years  before  this  time  he  wrote 
in  the  foreign  journal  the  confession  to  which 
he  adhered  to  the  end  of  his  life.  He  had 
been  talking  with  a  friend  on  the  subject. 
"  His  interest  is  concentrated  on  the  objective 
nature  of  the  Atonement ;  mine  on  the  Per- 
son of  Christ."  It  was  the  Life  of  Christ, 
and  the  Life  never  more  manifest  than  in  the 
Death,  that  Mr.  Diman  clung  to  as  the  great 
fact  of  Revelation.  His  philosophic  mind  re- 
fused to  see  in  the  crucifixion   an   isolated 


VIEW  OF  THE  ATONEMENT.  133 

event,  or  even  an  event  of  vital  moment,  un- 
connected with  the  previous  life  of  obedience. 
When  he  quoted  "  the  blood  of  Christ  cleans- 
eth  from  all  sin,"  he  meant  the  life-blood  of 
Christ,  and  the  life  as  assimilated  by  the  be- 
lieving soul.  "  Through  the  mysterious  al- 
chemy of  a  daily  communion,  must  He  be 
made  our  life,  and  we  be  transformed  into 
His  image.  His  spiritual  nature  must  be 
assimilated,  even  as  our  physical  frames  as- 
similate the  nutritious  principle  of  food,  till 
by  degrees  He  becomes  so  completely  in- 
wrought into  the  believing  soul,  that  it  can 
say,  'It  is  no  longer  I  that  live,  but  Christ 
that  liveth  in  me.'  "  1 

Mr.  Diman's  latest  utterances,  as  well  as  the 
earliest,  are  in  accord  with  the  deep  and  spir- 
itual view  of  the  nature  and  office  of  Christ 
he  so  loved  to  contemplate.  Writing  only 
three  years  before  his  death,  he  says :  "  In 
our  Lord's  discourse  on  the  night  before  he 
was  betrayed,  He  had  distinctly  taught  that 
the  great  work  which  he  had  assumed  would 
not  be  completed  by  His  death.  That  was 
not  the  last  result  towards  which  all  things 
had  tended,  but  was  itself  the  transition  step 
to  a  greater  result,  the  necessary  condition  of 

1  Orations  and  Essays :    Christ  the  Bread  of  Life. 


134  MEMOIRS. 

another  and  more  glorious  stage  of  spiritual 
development,  the  door  of  a  nearer  approach 
to  the  invisible  world."  1  .  .  . 

And  again  :  "  What  theologians  have  called 
the  plan  of  redemption  has  been  dissected 
with  all  the  confidence  with  which  science  in- 
vestigates the  phenomena  of  matter.  The 
most  signal,  pathetic,  persuasive  exhibition  of 
yearning  love  for  men,  ever  compassed  within 
the  limits  of  a  human  life,  has  been  analyzed 
into  dry,  repulsive  syllogisms,  and  summed  up 
in  the  metaphysical  dialect  of  creeds,  and 
made  the  shibboleths  of  contending  sects. 
For  even  the  story  of  redemption  could  be 
easily  perverted  into  an  abstract  theory  of  the 
divine  administration.  But  when  we  study 
the  doctrine  of  the  Spirit,  we  pass  from  the 
theology  of  the  intellect  to  the  theology  of 
the  feelings.  We  are  in  a  region  of  insight, 
of  experience,  of  inner  recognition,  where  in- 
tellectual conclusions  no  longer  satisfy."  2 

At  this  time,  and  later,  it  was  said  of  Mr. 
Diman,  that  he  inclined  towards  Unitarian 
views.  Notwithstanding  his  sympathy  with 
Unitarians,  which  arose  from  his  thorough 
appreciation    of    their    standpoint,    he   never 

1  Orations  and  Essays :   The  Baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

2  Ibid. 


THE  HUMANITY   OF  CHRIST.  135 

thought  of  acting  with  them,  as  his  letters 
prove.  The  belief  that  he  might  clo  so  prob- 
ably had  its  foundation  in  the  fact  that  he 
loved  to  dwell  upon  the  humanity  of  Christ. 
Throughout  his  life  his  writings  on  this  sub- 
ject are  in  perfect  accord.  As  a  theological 
student  he  wrote  :  "  While  Christ  was  the 
ideal  man,  so  it  is  ever  to  be  the  aim  of  every 
one,  in  the  same  manner,  to  realize  the  ideal 
man,  and  thus  be  also  a  manifestation  of  the 
Log'os  in  the  flesh.  Each  believer  should  be 
the  Living  Word  of  God."  The  Brookline 
pastor  wrote  :  "  Theology  in  part  must  be  held 
responsible  for  this  (i.  e.,  the  separation  of 
ethics  from  Christianity)  by  exalting  the  Son 
of  Man  above  the  race  whose  nature  He  ex- 
pressed, and  creating  an  impassable  gulf  be- 
tween Redeemer  and  redeemed.  In  her  zeal 
to  enthrone  the  Lord  of  Life  above  all  prin- 
cipality and  power,  and  all  that  may  be  named 
in  heaven  and  on  earth,  faith  has  been  at 
times  forgetful  that  it  was  the  Son  of  Man, 
whom  the  dying  Stephen  saw  standing  at  the 
right  hand  of  God,  and  whom  John  beheld 
in  Apocalyptic  glory.  .  .  .  Let  us  not  forget 
that  man's  normal  nature  is  seen  in  Christ, 
and  not  in  us.  .  .  .  It  is  this  sense  of  a  com- 
mon nature,  of  a  nature  whose  essential  qual- 


136  MEMOIRS. 

ities  and  capabilities  no  sin,  degradation,  nor 
lonof  centuries  of  alienation  have  rooted  out, 
that  establishes  the  sympathy  between  us 
and  the  Son  of  Man.  Without  this  there  is 
no  redemption.  Because  He  is  Son  of  Man, 
is  He  Saviour  of  the  world."  1  Six  years  later 
the  University  professor  wrote  :  "  Are  men 
weary  of  the  story  of  the  cross  ?  Are  they 
weary  of  sunrise  and  of  spring  ?  It  is  ever 
old,  yet  ever  new.  Only  a  pitiful  failure 
to  comprehend  these  various  and  profound 
aspects  in  which  the  Son  of  Man  stands  re- 
lated to  the  spiritual  constitution  of  the  race, 
these  aspects  which  Himself  intimated  when 
He  declared,  '  I  am  the  Way,  and  the  Truth, 
and  the  Life ;  no  man  cometh  unto  the  Father 
but  by  me/  —  only  a  pitiful  failure  to  com- 
prehend these  could  have  betrayed  any  into 
the  terrible  delusion  of  thinking  that  they 
could  climb  up  some  other  way."  2 

And  writing  in  the  last  year  of  his  life  Mr. 
Diman  says :  "  The  highest,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  simplest,  aspect  in  which  Christianity 
is  revealed  is  that  of  a  spiritual  force  revealing 
itself  in  human  souls. 

"  That  stupendous  fact  which  we  term  the 

1  Orations  and  Essays  :    The  Son  of  Man. 

9  Ibid. :  Christ  the  Way,  the  Truth,  the  Life. 


THE  INCARNATION.  137 

Incarnation  meant  no  more  than  this.  It  was 
the  dwelling  in  human  nature  of  a  divine  life 
and  power,  the  lifting  of  the  human  race  to  a 
higher  level  of  spiritual  experience  and  action. 
When  Jesus  chose  for  his  most  habitual  desig- 
nation of  himself  the  title  of  "  Son  of  Man," 
He  hinted  this  great  analogy  between  the 
natural  and  the  spiritual.  For  as  Son  of  Man 
He  expressed  and  illustrated  the  crowning 
result  of  a  human  development,  since  in  Him 
humanity  was  first  conscious  of  divine  affin- 
ities. Even  when  asserting!  his  most  inti- 
mate  relations  with  the  Father  He  ever  de- 
scribed himself  as  Son  of  Man.  And  what 
he  claimed  for  himself  He  accorded  to  his  fol- 
lowers." * 

The  deep  mysticism  and  lofty  purity  of  Mr. 
Diman's  views,  the  spiritual  heights  on  which 
he  walked,  might  well  cause  less  elevated  souls 
to  fall  back  in  confusion.  And  it  was  hard 
for  him,  except  in  the  pulpit,  where  all  per- 
sonality was  laid  aside,  to  express  his  truest 
thoughts  and  convictions.  In  any  argument 
he  was  apt  to  be,  if  possible,  too  fair.  He 
saw  the  other  side  so  clearly,  he  generally 
knew  the  history  and  growth  of  the  opposite 

1  Orations  and  Essays :  The  Kingdoms  of  Heaven  and  of 
Nature. 


138  MEMOIRS. 

opinion  so  well,  that  he  was  often  believed  to 
incline  toward  it.  He  also,  in  his  later  years, 
used  the  satiric  method  with  the  effect  of  en- 
tirely confusing  his  antagonist. 

"  I  do  not  mean,"  he  writes,  "  that  it  is  a 
matter  of  little  moment  how  truth  is  stated. 
On  the  contrary,  because  it  is  a  matter  of  so 
much  moment,  must  we  hesitate  before  ac- 
cepting any  statement  as  final.  Nor  are  dif- 
ferences of  statement  on  the  part  of  theo- 
logians to  be  sneered  at  as  mere  slight  and 
verbal  differences ;  on  the  contrary,  they  often 
express  broad  divergencies  of  understanding 
and  belief,  and  precisely  because  these  diver- 
gencies are  so  broad  does  it  seem  likely  that 
the  best  men  '  knew  in  part,  and  prophesied 
in  part.' " 

"  Our  faith  is  in  the  Father,  and  the  Son, 
and  the  Holy  Ghost;  not  in  either  one  as 
separate  from  the  rest,  but  in  the  three  to- 
gether, as  forming  one  truth,  one  object  of 
belief,  one  method  of  salvation.  The  problem 
for  each  regenerate  soul  is  to  recognize  in  the 
unity  of  one  experience  this  threefold  reve- 
lation. If  we  believe  in  the  Father  it  must  be 
as  manifest  in  the  Son ;  if  we  believe  in  the 
Son,  it  must  be  as  revealed  by  the  Spirit ;  if 


FATHER,  SON,  AND  HOLY  GHOST.     139 

we  believe  in  the  Spirit,  it  must  be  as  bringing 
us  through  the  Son  unto  the  Father.  The 
divine  vestment  cannot  be  rent  asunder.  If 
we  dwell  exclusively  on  either  one  of  these 
correlated  truths,  if  we  suffer  either  one  to 
exert  undue  influence  in  shaping  our  belief, 
we  sacrifice  the  proportion  of  faith.  This 
doctrine  formulates  the  threefold  adjustment 
to  human  wants,  and  according  as  we  symmet- 
rically grasp  it  are  we  made  partakers  of  the 
divine  nature.  It  was  not  designed  for  theo- 
logians, but  for  believing  men.  Of  nice  dog- 
matic statements  we  have  had  enough.  What 
we  need  is  a  deeper  intuition  of  the  interior 
meaning  ;  an  anointing  of  the  spirit  that  shall 
bring  us  to  such  open  vision  of  the  Lord  of 
life,  that  we,  being  transformed  into  his  im- 
age, may  have  our  lives  hid  with  him  in  God. 
Thus  will  it  be  felt  that  the  doctrine,  which 
through  so  many  ages  has  lain  imbedded  in 
the  richest  fruition  and  understanding  of  the 
love  of  God  in  Christ  which  passeth  knowl- 
edge, is  no  dead  abstraction  ;  thus  will  the 
deep  things  which  so  long  have  baffled  the 
intellect,  interpret  themselves  to  the  heart,  as 
the  believer  — 

'From  Hope,  and  firmer  Faith,  to  perfect  Love 
Attracted,  and  absorbed  ' — 


140  MEMOIRS. 

sees  at  last  no  longer  through  a  glass,  but 
face  to  face." l 

After  a  prolonged  discussion  and  a  heated 
controversy,  the  council  decided  to  proceed 
with  Mr.  Diman's  installation  as  pastor  of  the 
Harvard  Congregational  Church.  Here  he 
remained  four  years,  years  which  were  filled 
with  work  in  which  he  delighted.  Two  chil- 
dren were  born  here,  to  complete  the  happiness 
of  his  home  life. 

His  preaching  attracted  marked  attention, 
so  that  he  was  sought  for  other  fields.  Dr. 
Roswell  D.  Hitchcock  again  wrote  to  him 
about  the  Mercer  Street  Church,  in  New  York ; 
the  First  Congregational  Society  of  Hartford 
approached  him ;  and  in  1863  churches  in 
Philadelphia  and  Springfield  desired  his  ser- 
vices. 

"  He  was  before  all  the  Congregational 
ministers  who  are  known  as  '  orthodox,' ' 
wrote  Dr.  Rufus  Ellis,  "  certainly  in  this 
neighborhood,  in  the  offer  of  an  exchange  of 
pulpits  to  a  Unitarian  clergyman.  At  his  in- 
vitation we  took  each  other's  place  on  Sunday, 
May  10,  1863,  he  officiating  in  First  Church, 
and  I  in  his  house  of  worship  in  Brookline."  2 

1  Tlie  Monthly  Religious  Magazine,  September,  1863. 
Sermon  :  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost. 

2  First  Church  in  Boston :  250th  Anniversary,  p.  191. 


EXCHANGE   OF  PULPITS.  141 

To  this  exchange  of  pulpits  the  following 
letters  refer :  — 

TO    THE    REV.    RTJFUS    ELLIS. 

Brookline,  April  24,  1863. 

I  reciprocate  most  heartily  your  fraternal 
sentiments,  and  will  gladly  exchange  with  you 
on  any  Sunday  that  you  will  indicate.  It  has 
long  seemed  to  me  that  the  issues,  on  which 
the  Congregational  body  divided,  are  dead. 
The  deeper  religious  consciousness  of  the 
present  day  is  independent  of  either  extreme. 
I  have  never  assented  to  the  so-called  New 
England  divinity,  and  have  held  myself  stu- 
diously aloof  from  all  denominational  connec- 
tions. If  anything  can  be  done,  not  to  heal 
the  breach  simply,  but  to  build  again  on  a 
more  catholic  and  apostolic  foundation,  I  shall 
heartily  rejoice. 

Brookline,  May  15, 1863. 

I  make  haste  to  thank  you  for  your  kind 
note,  and  to  express  my  gratification  at  the 
reception  given  me  by  your  people.  When  I 
selected  the  sermon  it  was  with  the  conviction 
that  it  presented  no  "  strange  doctrine." 

It  is  with  shame  and  regret  that  I  am 
forced  to  confess  that  my  own  people  have 


142  MEMOIRS. 

shown  a  less  liberal  feeling  than  I  had  hoped 
for.  This  has  not,  however,  shaken  in  the 
least  my  own  conviction  that  I  acted  as  became 
a  minister  of  Christ.  In  justice  to  yourself  I 
ought  to  add,  that  no  exception  whatever  was 
taken  to  your  sermon,  but  only  to  your  eccle- 
siastical position.  Perhaps,  however,  these 
things  are  no  more  than  we  ought  to  expect. 
The  leaven  must  be  allowed  a  little  time  to 
work. 

Mr.  Diman  on  several  occasions  delivered 
the  so-called  "  Thursday  lecture  "  in  Mr.  Ellis's 
church.  This  was  an  old  custom,  which  Mr. 
Ellis  had  revived  shortly  before  Mr.  Diman 
came  to  Brookline. 

A  pleasant  feature  of  the  Brookline  life 
was  a  club  of  six  young  ministers  of  different 
denominations,  from  the  various  churches  in 
the  neighborhood.  They  met  at  each  other's 
houses,  and  read  the  Agamemnon  of  ^Eschylus 
in  the  forenoon,  and  after  dinner  took  up  mat- 
ters of  mutual  interest.  "We  were  all  nearly 
the  same  age,"  writes  Mr.  Young,  "  and 
though  we  occupied  different  theological  po- 
sitions, yet  we  had  much  in  common." 

The  word  heretical,  having  once  been  men- 
tioned, is  apt  to  cling  to  a  minister,  and  Mr. 


OFFER  FROM  BROWN  UNIVERSITY.     143 

Diman  was  no  exception.  Before  long  some 
of  the  congregation  began  to  think  his  ser- 
mons unorthodox.  A  strong  and  influential 
party  in  the  church  delighted  in  them,  and 
heard  with  hearing  ears.  All  united,  how- 
ever, in  praising  his  blameless  life,  his  admira- 
ble performance  of  all  parish  duties,  and  his 
personal  charm  of  manner.  Such  was  the 
condition  of  affairs  in  1864.  The  very  sermons 
which  he  preached  in  later  years  to  delighted 
congregations  in  Boston  and  Providence,  and 
which  no  one  called  unorthodox,  were  found 
fault  with.  His  upholders  and  followers  were 
devoted,  and  the  church  was  on  the  brink  of 
disruption.  At  this  juncture  came  the  offer 
of  a  professorship  in  Brown  University,  made 
at  the  suggestion  of  Professor  William  Gam- 
mel,  who  was  about  to  retire  from  the  chair 
of  History  and  Political' Economy. 

TO  HENRY  W.  DIMAN. 

Brookline,  February  24,  1864. 

Dr.  Sears  came  down  in  person  to  see  me, 
and  urged  the  matter  in  most  pressing  and 
flattering  terms.  Soon  as  my  church  got  wind 
of  the  matter  they  began  to  stir,  and  pre- 
sented a  request  in  writing,  signed  by  almost 
everybody  in  the  congregation,  that  I  should 


144  MEMOIRS. 

remain.  Many  beside  remonstrated  in  person, 
so  I  was  driven  to  think  seriously  whether  it 
would  be  right  for  me  to  leave.  If  I  decide 
to  go  it  will  be  mainly  on  account  of  my  dis- 
agreeable relations  with  the  denomination. 
I  am  heartily  disgusted  with  the  incessant 
twaddle  about  soundness  and  unsoundness. 

On  many  accounts  I  should  be  sorry  to 
leave  Brookline.  All  my  social  relations  are 
exceedingly  pleasant,  and  the  advantages  of 
various  sorts  are  unsurpassed.  My  four  years 
here  have  been  very  pleasant. 

Professor  George  P.  Fisher  adds  the  fol- 
lowing paragraphs,  on 

THE     THEOLOGICAL     POSITION     OF    PROFESSOR 
DIMAN. 

A  stranger  conversing  with  Professor  Di- 
man  might  have  received  the  impression  that 
he  was  highly  conservative  in  his  religious 
tastes  and  opinions ;  or,  on  the  other  hand,  he 
might  have  carried  away  the  impression  that, 
besides  being  a  fearless  advocate  of  progress, 
he  was  not  in  the  least  indisposed  to  bold 
innovations  in  theology.  Such  a  "  chance 
acquaintance"  might  have  heard  from  him 
expressions  favorable  to  characteristic  features 


COMMENTS   OF  PROFESSOR  FISHER.     145 

of  the  Protestant  Episcopal,  or  even  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  —  expressions  that 
would  have  struck  him  with  some  surprise,  as 
falling  from  the  lips  of  a  Congregational 
minister.  On  the  contrary,  remarks  apprecia- 
tive of  certain  traits  of  the  Unitarians  might 
have  been  equally  unexpected  from  an  "  ortho- 
dox "  scholar  and  preacher.  Yet  there  was 
not  a  particle  of  insincerity,  and  no  real  incon- 
sistency in  all  these  comments.  In  the  free- 
dom of  conversation,  to  break  up  somebody's 
"  dogmatic  slumber,"  and  perhaps  in  a  partly 
humorous  spirit,  novel  opinions  might  be 
thrown  out,  and  that  in  a  paradoxical  form, 
which  were  likely  to  provoke  astonishment,  if 
not  dissent,  especially  if  the  listener  were  de- 
ficient in  breadth  and  discernment.  But 
underlying  all  these  diverse  expressions,  there 
was  a  consistent  mode  of  thought ;  and  there 
was  a  like  consistency  in  the  course  of  conduct 
which  Professor  Diman  pursued  in  ecclesiasti- 
cal affairs  and  relations.  To  be  sure,  we  must 
take  into  account  the  ingrained  personal  inde- 
pendence, and  the  outspoken  habit,  which 
characterized  him.  He  did  not  hesitate, 
although  always  with  courtesy,  to  say  just 
what  he  thought,  unawed  by  the  disagree- 
ment of  others,  and  not  tempted  to  cloak  his 


146  MEMOIRS. 

opinions  from  a  desire  to  please.  In  order 
to  do  justice  to  Professor  Diman,  one  had 
need  to  bear  in  mind  the  fact  that  while  he 
was  free  and  fresh  in  his  intellectual  activity, 
not  afraid  to  think  for  himself,  having  a 
certain  delight  in  the  higher  fields  of  specula- 
tion, he  was  imbued,  if  I  may  use  the  expres- 
sion, with  a  profound  historical  sense.  The 
present  he  saw  in  the  light  of  all  the  past. 
Whatever  could  fairly  be  said  to  have  a 
historic  justification,  engaged,  at  least  to  a 
qualified  extent,  his  sympathy.  The  more 
ancient  ecclesiastical  bodies,  with  their  stable 
forms  of  polity  and  their  impressive  liturgies, 
he  looked  ujDon  with  an  appreciative  regard. 
For  the  old  Puritanism  of  New  England,  and 
the  simple  dignity  of  its  ecclesiastical  system, 
he  cherished  a  like  reverent  feeling.  It  was 
something  to  be  highly  honored  and  re- 
spected, —  something  which  had  a  legitimate 
origin  and  had  performed  a  worthy  and  noble 
work.  From  his  Rhode  Island  birth  and  early 
education,  from  his  training  in  college  under 
Dr.  Wayland,  from  his  wide  opportunities  for 
culture  both  in  New  England  and  in  Germany, 
and  from  the  instinctive  tendencies  of  his  own 
nature,  Diman  was  lifted  above  everything 
narrow,   one-sided,   exclusive.     Merely  provi- 


COMMENTS   OF  PROFESSOR   FISHER.     147 

dential  tests  of  doctrine,  demands  made  on  the 
intellect  by  local  opinion,  creeds  manufactured 
yesterday,  did  not  attract  from  him  any  defer- 
ence. He  respected  the  leaders  of  New  Eng- 
land theology,  from  Edwards  to  Taylor  and 
Park,  but  he  could  not  be  counted  among  the 
followers  of  any  of  them.  The  masterly  way 
in  which  he  could  deal  critically,  and  in  a 
broad,  impartial  spirit,  with  the  history  and 
special  peculiarities  of  the  different  religious 
bodies,  is  finely  exemplified  in  his  article  on 
"  Religion  in  America."  Nothing  has  been 
written  on  the  subject,  certainly  not  in  so 
brief  a  compass,  which  is  equally  discrimi- 
nating and  learned. 

Now  add  to  the  peculiar  natural  qualities, 
and  to  the  rich, "varied  culture  of  Professor 
Diman,  the  circumstance  that  he  attained  to 
manhood  late  enough  to  be  able  to  contem- 
plate great  religious  controversies  in  a  dispas- 
sionate way, —  somewhat  as  an  on-looker  from 
abroad  might  have  regarded  them.  His  posi- 
tion set  him  free  from  partisan  bias,  such  as 
even  one  like  him,  at  an  earlier  date,  might 
not  have  been  able  to  escape.  The  controversy 
of  Churchman  and  Puritan,  the  controversy 
of  Orthodox  and  Unitarian  Congregationalist, 
were  not,  indeed,  wholly  things  of  the  past ; 


148  MEMOIRS. 

yet  Diman  was  so  placed  that  he  could  scan 
the  contending  parties  from  a  higher  plane  of 
observation.  To  neither  of  them  could  he 
surrender  himself  with  an  undivided  sympathy. 
As  regards  Congregationalism,  he  deplored 
the  great  division  which  placed  the  children 
of  the  Puritans  in  two  antagonistic  camps. 
He  would  probably  have  gone  with  the  most 
pacific  in  the  endurance  of  differences  of 
belief,  had  it  been  possible  in  that  way  to 
avoid  the  separation.  The  Unitarian  churches 
and  ministers,  in  particular  such  as  held  fast 
to  the  supernatural  origin  of  the  Gospel,  he 
regarded  not  only  with  no  antipathy,  but  was 
disposed  to  go  decidedly  farther  than  his 
brethren  generally  in  friendly  approaches  to- 
ward them,  and  in  the  exchange  of  ministe- 
rial courtesies.  He  looked  upon  the  ministers 
and  churches  of  this  description  as  members 
of  a  broken  household  to  which  he  was  fond 
of  looking  back  as  it  existed  in  its  earlier  day 
of  conscious  strength  and  unity.  When  ques- 
tioned by  an  installing  council  respecting  his 
doctrinal  tenets,  in  the  midst  of  an  atmosphere 
engendered  by  a  long  theological  conflict,  he 
would  show  no  anxiety  to  satisfy  scruples  or 
to  allay  suspicions.  He  would  take  no  pains 
to  express  himself  in  conventional  phraseology. 


COMMENTS   OF  PROFESSOR   FISHER.     149 

To  those  who  could  not  recognize  evangelical 
truth  except  in  the  traditional  dress,  to  all  who 
listened  to  catch  the  sound  of  their  shibboleth, 
there  was  a  savor  of  heresy  in  the  young 
preacher's  definitions  of  doctrine.  A  more 
conciliatory  bearing  on  his  part  would  certainly 
have  been  politic.  Possibly,  it  might  have 
been  judicious  and  advisable.  Individuals  not 
wanting  in  catholic  and  kindly  feeling  might 
have  thus  been  delivered  from  needless  suspi- 
cion and  alarm.  The  result,  strange  to  say, 
was  that  he  was  looked  on  as  a  latitudinarian 
by  not  a  few,  at  the  same  time  that  some  of 
the  most  conservative  of  the  "  Old  School " 
ministers  found  in  him  much  that  was  con- 
genial with  their  ways  of  thinking,  and  some- 
times defended  him  as  "  sound  in  the  faith  " 
against  aspersions  from  the  "  New  School " 
side.  I  believe  that  certain  views  which  he 
happened  to  avow  respecting  the  observance 
of  the  Lord's  day  —  views  more  akin  to  those  of 
Luther  and  the  Reformers  than  to  the  stricter 
Puritan  idea  —  drew  upon  him  at  one  time 
considerable  censure.  The  particular  point  in 
discussion  related  to  the  running  of  horse-cars 
on  Sunday.  The  virulence  with  which  he  was 
denounced  by  one  or  more  of  the  Congrega- 
tionalist  ministers  near  him,  was  among  the 


150  MEMOIRS. 

causes  that  led  him  to  attend,  for  a  while  at 
least,  an  Episcopal  church,  situated  in  the 
neighborhood  of  his  dwelling. 

To  speak  a  little  more  in  particular  of  Di- 
man's  theological  opinions,  I  think  that  he 
would  have  given  his  full  assent  to  the  Nicene 
Creed,  the  great  symbol  in  which  the  divinity 
of  Christ  is  asserted  and  defined.  I  have  no 
reason  to  think  that  he  had  any  doubts  re- 
specting the  doctrine  of  the  Incarnation,  as 
generally  held  in  the  Church.  On  the  subject 
of  the  Atonement,  while  he  did  not  consider 
particular  theories  —  the  governmental  theory, 
for  example  —  an  adequate  explication  of  the 
subject,  he  believed  that  the  work  of  the  Re- 
deemer goes  beyond  any  mere  teaching  or 
legislative  function,  and  includes  a  relation  to 
God  and  to  a  righteous  moral  order.  He  at- 
tached  most  weight  to  the  moral  and  spiritual 
elements  of  the  Atonement,  and  was  specially 
desirous  to  explore  and  ascertain  their  precise 
significance.  His  view  of  the  Inspiration  of 
the  Scriptures  was  not  in  accord  with  the  tra- 
ditional formularies.  While  he  had  a  sincere 
and  deep  reverence  for  the  Bible  as  the  au- 
thority in  matters  of  faith,  he  did  not  consider 
its  records  to  be  free  from  historical  discrep- 
ancies, and  from  other  blemishes    belonging 


COMMENTS   OF  PROFESSOR   FISHER.     151 

to  compositions  in  which  human  agency  has  a 
part  of  its  own  to  fulfill.  On  one  subject  he 
came  at  last,  I  think,  to  differ  from  the  con- 
victions commonly  entertained  in  the  Christian 
body  to  which  he  belonged.  In  a  sermon 
preached  at  King's  Chapel,  February  10th, 
1878,  in  a  course  of  sermons  by  different  di- 
vines on  Future  Punishment,  he  took  his  text 
in  the  first  Epistle  of  John  :  "  He  that  hath 
the  Son  hath  life ;  and  he  that  hath  not  the 
Son  of  God  hath  not  life."  He  concludes  that 
"there  is  no  warrant  whatever  for  erecting*: 
the  bold,  naked,  literal  dogma  of  everlasting 
punishment  into  an  article  of  Christian  faith ; 
that  a  grievous  wrong  is  done  when  any  who 
shrink  from  accepting  it  are  excluded  from 
the  communion  of  Christian  people  ;  and  that 
a  religious  body  which  insists  on  this  as  an 
essential  test  will  bar  from  its  ministry  many 
of  the  most  thoughtful  and  most  earnest  of 
the  present  generation.  The  early  records 
are  silent  on  this  point ;  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land omits  it  from  her  articles ;  those  who 
venture  to  affirm  it,  affirm  what  Jesus  himself 
made  no  part  of  his  direct,  explicit  teaching. 
Where  he  was  silent,  we  well  may  pause." 

I  am  aware  that  the  foregoing  remarks  will 
give  those  who  did  not  know  Diman,  a  very 


152  MEMOIRS. 

inadequate  conception  of  his  peculiarities  as  a 
theologian.  To  gain  a  true  idea  of  that  rare 
mingling  of  spiritual  perception  with  logical 
clearness  and  accuracy,  which  belonged  to 
him,  and  of  the  felicity  of  the  language  in 
which  he  spoke  and  wrote  on  the  topics  of 
the  Gospel,  the  reader  must  resort  to  the  ser- 
mons printed  in  the  volume  of  his  "  Orations 
and  Essays." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

1864-1868.    aet.  33-37. 

Providence  Home.  —  College  Work.  —  Public  Lectures  on 
Political  Economy.  —  Letter  to  Rev.  J.  O.  Murray.  — 
Preaching.  —  Fourth-of-July  Oration.  —  Letters  to  Presi- 
dent Angell.  — Vacation  Trip  to  Chicago.  —  John  Cotton's 
Reply  to  Roger  Williams.  —  Letters  to  President  Angell. 
—  Discourse  in  Commemoration  of  Professor  Dunn.  — 
Sunday  Cars.  —  Sermons  in  Storms.  —  The  Close  of  the 
Year. 

The  offer  of  a  chair  in  Brown  University 
was  accepted  after  some  deliberation,  and  in 
September,  1864,  Mr.  Diman  began  his  col- 
lege work. 

From  Providence,  October  1st,  Mr.  Diman 
writes  to  a  friend :  "  The  pressure  of  many 
new  duties  has  caused  me  to  neglect  my  cor- 
respondence. We  wanted  to  send  for  you  to 
pass  Commencement  with  us,  but  have  been 
delayed  much  longer  than  we  expected  in  get- 
ting into  our  house.  Next  week  we  expect  to 
move  into  it,  and  as  soon  as  we  are  fairly  set- 
tled we  shall  claim  your  promised  visit." 

The  house  referred  to  is  the  one  on  Ano;ell 
Street,  in  which  all  of  Mr.  Diman's  life  in 


154  MEMOIRS. 

Providence  was  passed,  and  which  had  for 
many  years  been  a  centre  of  activity  and  use- 
fulness. "  Rose  Farm  "  was  the  old  name  of 
the  pleasant  orchard  -  clad  acres  that  sur- 
rounded it.  Its  hospitable  doors  were  always 
open,  and  with  the  coming  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Diman  the  place  renewed  its  youth.  How 
many  distinguished  guests  were  welcomed  here 
from  a  distance  !  while  the  best  and  clever- 
est the  city  afforded  were  constant  visitors. 
A  chance  guest,  detained  over  night,  writes 
long  after : 

"  I  obtained  a  glimpse  of  your  home  life, 
that  has  followed  me  as  a  heavenly  vision  to 
this  hour." 

The  first  winter  in  Providence,  1864-65, 
was  apparently  entirely  devoted  to  college 
work.  It  was  entirely  new  work,  and  the  let- 
ters remaining  are  few.  To  his  brother  he 
writes  that  he  is  well  pleased  with  it,  and 
should  he  decide  to  take  a  parish  again,  the 
time  would  not  be  lost. 

But  the  next  winter  he  engaged  in  some  of 
the  outside  work,  which  was,  perhaps,  even 
more  effective  and  useful  than  the  college  in- 
struction.  A  course  of  evening  lectures  on 
Political  Economy  was  given  at  Bryant  and 
Stratton's   Business   College.      The    opening 


FOURTH  OF  JULY  ORATION.  155 

lecture  was  largely  attended,  and  the  whole 
course  received  with  attention. 

TO    REV.    J.    O.    MURRAY. 

Providence,  November  10,  1865. 

.  ,  .  Truly  there  is  no  trial  that  so  sorely 
afflicts  us  as  the  sickness  and  death  of  our 
little  ones.  We  have  had  a  long  season  of 
anxiety  this  fall  with  our  little  boy,  and  at  one 
time  were  fain  compelled  to  relinquish  almost 
all  hope,  but  he  has  been  mercifully  preserved, 
and  is  now  nearly  recovered. 

What  are  the  difficulties  of  faith  that  men 
make  such  ado  about,  compared  with  these 
real  and  most  appalling  facts  that  touch  our 
every-day  life  ? 

Every  thing  goes  on  pleasantly  with  me,  so 
far  as  duties  are  concerned.  As  I  am  less 
driven  I  feel  much  more  satisfied  with  my 
work.  This  term  I  have  been  giving  most  of 
my  attention  to  early  French  history,  a  subject 
most  obscurely  treated  by  English  masters. 

I  endeavor  to  economize  in  book-buying, 
but  yesterday  I  gladly  gave  twenty  dollars  for 
an  English  copy  of  Edward  Irving's  works. 
One  of  the  sermons  that  I  read  last  evening 
almost  repaid  me.  I  wish  you  might  read  the 
one  "  On  the  Death  of  Children,"  written 
after  the  loss  of  his  little  boy.  .  .  . 


156  MEMOIRS. 

With  his  new  work  Mr.  Diman  did  not  re- 
linquish preaching.  He  was  ever  ready  to 
respond  to  the  calls  made  upon  him,  and  at 
various  times  supplied  pulpits  for  many  consec- 
utive weeks.  The  Beneficent  Congregational 
Church  had  been  without  a  pastor,  and  during 
the  winter  of  1865-6  Mr.  Diman  supplied  its 
pulpit,  filling  it  with  great  acceptance  to  the 
people. 

On  the  fourth  of  July,  1866,  Mr.  Diman 
delivered  an  oration  before  the  city  authorities 
and  citizens  of  Providence,  on  "  The  Nation 
and  the  Constitution,"  in  which  he  eloquently 
sets  forth  the  doctrine,  that  "  the  nation  holds 
not  from  the  law,  but  the  law  holds  from  the 
nation." 

"  No  nation  ever  existed  that  depends  so 
little  as  does  ours  upon  its  mere  form  of  gov- 
ernment. To  my  mind,  the  crowning  moment 
of  our  great  conflict  was  not  when  the  first 
gun  fired  on  Sumter  was  followed  by  the 
magnificent  uprising  of  a  great  people  ;  when 
the  whole  North  burned  with  an  enthusiasm 
that  has  had  nothing  like  it  since  the  days 
of  the  crusades  ;  but  rather,  that  dark,  that 
dreadful  hour,  when,  with  the  nation  reeling 
beneath  the  blow  that  smote  its  beloved  Chief, 
the  great  duties  of  the  state  passed  without  a 


LETTERS.  157 

break  or  a  jar  to  the  hands  of  his  successor. 
That  was  the  real  triumph  of  our  institu- 
tions." l 

TO    PRESIDENT    ANGELL. 

Providence,  November  27,  1866. 

.  .  .  For  the  past  week  I  have  been  very- 
busy  writing  new  lectures  for  my  class,  and 
preparing  for  the  press  an  edition  of  "  John 
Cotton's  Reply  to  Roger  Williams,"  which  will 
be  printed  by  the  Narragansett  Club.  I  have 
been  much  interested  to  study  in  the  original 
authorities  the  question  of  his  banishment, 
and  my  opinions  have  been  somewhat  modified. 

This  week  is  the  usual  recess.  The  term 
has  gone  very  pleasantly  thus  far.  I  have 
used  the  book  on  "  Feudalism  "  which  I  showed 
to  you,  and  derived  many  new  ideas  from  it. 

My  wife  and  children  are  in  Boston.  I 
go  down  to-morrow  to  pass  Thanksgiving.  I 
propose  to  do  the  eating,  and  let  others  do 
the  preaching. 

Providence,  January  27,  1867. 

We  got  through  (the  term)  last  week.  My 
examination  was,  on  the  whole,  the  best  I  have 
yet  had.  It  was  both  oral  and  written  for 
the  whole  class,  and  was  regarded  as  pretty 

1  The  Nation  and  the  Constitution,  p.  22.  Providence  Press 
Company,  1866. 


158  MEMOIRS. 

severe.  I  was  gratified  with  the  result  be- 
cause I  have  taught  Guizot  for  the  last  term 
by  a  new  method,  giving  up  the  daily  recita- 
tions, and  having  a  written  analysis  of  a  whole 
chapter  presented  at  once.  It  saves  much 
weariness,  and  by  grasping  a  subject  as  a 
whole,  the  class  get  a  better  idea  of  it.  Be- 
sides, it  .already  does  away  with  the  old  parrot 
style  of  exact  recitation. 

With  regard  to  the  first  two  chapters  of 
Guizot  I  have  always  taught  them.  They 
are  far  behind  the  present  discussion  of  the 
subject,  but  are  useful  to  hang  remarks  upon. 

With  regard  to  Political  Economy,  I  doubt 
if  you  will  find  the  preparation  of  a  daily 
lecture  (of  course  I  mean  the  heads)  any 
more  laborious  than  getting  a  long  lesson  out 
of  a  text-book.  .  .  . 

In  the  summer  of  1867  a  vacation  excursion 
was  taken,  and  thus  described :  — 

Chicago,  July  24. 
Which  of  all  the  lost  treasures  of  ancient 
literature  one  would  care  most  to  have  recov- 
ered, has  been  a  favorite  question  for  the 
leisure  moments  of  literary  men.  Respecting 
an  answer,  there  has  been  as  little  agreement 


LETTER  FROM  CHICAGO.  159 

as  with  the  scarcely  less  important  questions, 
What  song  the  Syrens  sang,  and  What  dress 
Achilles  assumed  when  he  hid  himself  anion g- 
the  women.  The  historian  of  the  "  Decline 
and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire  "  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  declare  that  for  himself  he  would  pre- 
fer the  "  Lost  Decades  "  of  Livy  to  the  accu- 
mulated stores  of  the  Alexandrian  library. 
The  judgment  of  your  correspondent  may 
have  received  an  unconscious  bias  from  the 
circumstance  that  his  early  days  were  passed 
in  a  seaport  town,  where  the  whale-fishery  still 
flourished  in  a  glory  undimmed  by  kerosene  ; 
but  it  has  always  seemed  to  him  that  beyond 
comparison  the  most  curious  production  of  an- 
tiquity that  could  be  recovered  from  the  de- 
stroyer, Time,  would  be  the  diary,  or,  in  more 
exact  nautical  phrase,  the  log-book,  kept  by 
the  prophet  Jonah,  during  the  three  days  and 
nights  of  his  experimental  cruise  along  the 
eastern  shores  of  the  Mediterranean.  In  the 
absence  of  the  original  record,  the  emotions  of 
the  distinguished  navigator  can  only  be  mat- 
ter of  conjecture  ;  it  seems,  however,  not  un- 
reasonable to  infer,  in  view  of  all  the  circum- 
stances, that  the  remorse  caused  by  a  willful 
attempt  to  evade  duty  was  not  the  sole  source 
of  discomfort.     Be  this,  however,  as  it  may, 


160  MEMOIRS. 

and  without  pausing  to  quote  on  both  sides  of 
the  question  the  learned  and  voluminous  opin- 
ions of  the  leading  German  and  Dutch  com- 
mentators, I  risk  nothing  in  asserting  that  had 
the  whale  been  fitted,  in  respect  to  his  interior 
accommodations,  according  to  the  patent  of 
a  namesake  of  the  prophet,  Mr.  Jonah  Wood- 
ruff, the  trip  to  Tarshish  might  have  been 
accomplished  without,  at  least,  any  physical 
inconvenience.  The  fact  deserves  to  be  noted 
by  all  those  who  hold  to  a  kind  of  divine 
significance  in  proper  names. 

Time  flies  apace,  and  my  fuller  impressions 
of  Chicago  must  be  reserved  for  another  let- 
ter. The  city  whose  daily  price-current  de- 
termines the  price  of  grain  throughout  the 
world,  can  hardly  be  dispatched  at  the  end  of 
a  sheet.  I  will  only  add,  that,  although  the 
skill  of  the  Garden  City  has  succeeded  in  tap- 
ping the  bottom  of  Lake  Michigan  to  obtain 
an  abundance  of  pure  water,  some  misgiving 
as  to  the  extent  of  the  supply  seems,  as  yet,  to 
have  prevented  any  extensive  adoption  of  it 
as  a  beverage.  It  may  be  that  the  apprehen- 
sion has  arisen,  that  should  the  water  of  the 
lake  be  used  too  freely,  not  enough  would  be 
left  to  keep  up  the  "  solemn  bass "  of  Ni- 
agara. 


COTTON'S  ANSWER   TO    WILLIAMS.     161 

TO    PRESIDENT    ANGELL. 

Providence,  August  14,  1867. 

I  was  delighted  with  your  address.  It 
gave  me  a  feeling  of  deep  regret,  as  I  recog- 
nized your  high  ideal  of  academic  training, 
that  we  were  not  working  in  the  same  institu- 
tion. The  state  of  things  here  is  discourag- 
ing. Much  is  said  of  the  importance  of  hav- 
ing a  "  consistent  Baptist  "  at  the  head  of  the 
institution,  but  not  a  word  about  elevating  the 
standard  of  scholarship,  or  extending  the 
means  of  instruction.  We  have  a  set  of  men 
in  the  corporation  who  are  not  enough  inter- 
ested in  the  inner  working  of  the  college  even 
to  attend  the  examinations. 

You  have  made  a  good  move  in  changing 
the  mode  of  electing  your  trustees.  We 
ought  to  do  the  same  thing.  Gammell  and  I 
are  doing  what  we  can  to  bring  it  about  by 
seminal  articles  in  the  paper. 

By  the  first  opportunity  I  shall  send  you 
a  copy  of  "  Cotton."  The  view  which  I  ad- 
vance, so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  find,  is 
new.  It  naturally  has  not  met  with  much 
favor  here,  but  has  been  very  warmly  com- 
mended by  some  of  the  Boston  men.  .  .  . 

This  reprint  of  "  Master  John  Cotton's  An- 


162  MEMOIRS. 

swer  to  Master  Roger  Williams  "  is  the  second 
volume  of  the  publications  of  the  Narragan- 
sett  Club.  The  editor's  preface  is  dated 
March,  1867.  It  makes  a  volume  of  over 
two  hundred  pages,  with  an  appendix,  and  a 
hundred  and  eight  notes  on  the  text,  the  re- 
sults of  Mr.  Diman's  researches,  and  study  in 
the  original  authorities,  to  which  he  refers  in 
a  previous  letter. 

"  After  this  most  able  analysis  by  a  Rhode 
Island  -scholar  and  professor  in  her  University, 
of  the  statements  of  both  Cotton  and  Williams, 
there  should  no  longer  be  any  want  of  agree- 
ment among  the  historians  of  Massachusetts 
and  Rhode  Island,  as  to  the  opinions  which 
Williams  held,  and  the  relation  which  he  sus- 
tained to  the  churches  and  to  the  civil  author- 
ities of  Massachusetts  during  his  residence 
there,  or  as  to  the  true  reasons  for  his  banish- 
ment from  that  colony."  x 

Dr.  Georo-e  E.  Ellis,  of  the  Massachusetts 
Historical  Society,  writes  of  this  volume: 
"  Professor  Diman's  view  and  presentment  of 
the  character  and  course  of  Roger  Williams 
seemed  to  me  to  be  the  most  thoroughly  ade- 
quate, impartial,  and  judicial  treatment  of  his 
subject  that  has  ever  been  given." 

1  North  American  Review,  April,  1868. 


COMMEMORATION  OF  PROF.   DUNN.     163 

A  learned  discussion  in  relation  to  Ro^er 
Williams,  between  "  Clericus,"  Mr.  Samuel  L. 
Caldwell,  and  "  Historicus,"  Mr.  Diman,  was 
printed  shortly  after  this,  in  the  columns  of 
the  "  Journal."  The  discussion  covered  a 
period  of  some  months,  and  for  several  years 
Mr.  Diman  occasionally  wrote  on  the  subject. 
11  What  Williams  taught,"  he  asserted,  "  was 
not  the  duty  of  the  civil  ruler  to  tolerate  re- 
ligious opinions,  but  the  far  more  fruitful 
doctrine,  that  religion  did  not  need  to  ask  for 
toleration,  and  was  in  its  nature  separate  from 
all  civil  power." 

Many  will  remember  the  memorial  address 
on  the  life  of  Professor  Robinson  Potter  Dunn, 
and  have  special  interest  in  the  following  let- 
ters. 

TO    PRESIDENT    ANGELL. 

Providence,  September  24,  1867. 

In  accordance  with  a  very  generally  ex- 
pressed desire  it  has  been  decided  that  a  dis- 
course in  commemoration  of  Dunn  should  be 
given  before  the  college,  and  as  it  is  designed 
to  be  an  academic  matter,  the  choice  has  fallen 
upon  me.  I  feel  a  good  deal  of  hesitation 
about  it,  although  no  one  appreciated  Dunn 
more  highly,  or  is  more  sensible  of  the  loss  the 
college  has  sustained ;  but  my  relations  with 


164  MEMOIRS. 

him  were  never  quite  as  intimate  as  yours,  or 
perhaps  Caldwell's.  Had  you  been  here,  the 
choice  would  not  have  fallen  upon  me.  Hav- 
ing accepted  the  task,  however,  I  am  very 
anxious  that  it  should  be  adequately  performed, 
and  it  would  be  a  very  great  favor  if  you 
would  make  any  suggestions  that  may  occur 
to  you.  I  want  especially  to  present  him  in 
his  relations  to  the  college.  You  were  inti- 
mately acquainted  with  him  several  years,  and 
of  course  must  have  received  a  marked  im- 
pression of  some  sort.  If  you  have  time  to 
give  me  a  hint  or  two  it  will  greatly  oblige. 

We  have  had  serious  trouble  in  College. 
Chace  has  taken  the  Senior  Class,  giving  up 
the  Juniors  to  an  inexperienced  tutor.  The 
death  of  Dunn  required  that  a  similar  arrange- 
ment should  be  made  with  Rhetoric.  The 
latter  was  a  necessity,  but  in  the  former  case 
the  class  felt,  and  I  think  justly,  that  their 
rights  had  been  disregarded.  To  be  deprived 
of  two  professors  at  the  same  time  was  too 
much.  Several  have  left,  and  serious  dissat- 
isfaction still  exists,  although  there  will  prob- 
ably be  no  open  resistance.  When  will  the 
Corporation  learn  that  the  success  of  a  col- 
lege depends  upon  accomplished  teachers  ? 
Unless  they  wake  up,  Brown  will  sink  to  the 


SUNDAY  HORSE-CARS.  165 

rank  of  an  academy.  In  this  respect,  how 
irreparable  the  loss  of  Dunn  ! 

And  now  let  me  tell  you  a  good  story. 
Who  should  make  his  appearance  in  the 
"  Journal "    office   yesterday,   in    a  towering 

rage,  but  the  Rev.  Dr. .     He  demanded 

his  bill,  and  said  that  the  "  Providence  Jour- 
nal "  should  never  enter  his  doors  again. 
And  pray  what  do  you  think  was  the  cause 
of  all  this  ?  A  brief  article,  giving  an  out- 
line of  a  recent  opinion  of  Judge  Read  of 
Philadelphia,  on  Sunday  cars,  and  indorsing 
the  opinion.  Now  the  joke  of  the  whole 
matter  is  that  the  article  in  question  was  writ- 
ten by  your  humble  servant. 

This  article  on  Sunday  Cars  is  the  one  to 
which  Professor  Fisher  refers,  and  which  at 
the  time  excited  much  comment.  It  con- 
cludes :  — 

"We  have  given  at  some  length  an  ab- 
stract of  the  opinion  of  Judge  Read,  because 
in  its  wide  and  complete  discussion  of  the 
subject  it  touches  upon  points  which  will  in- 
terest every  thoughtful  reader.  Already,  as 
it  seems,  the  opinion  has  provoked  violent  as- 
saults, but  we  do  not  doubt  that  in  the  end 
these  views  will  commend  themselves  to  the 


166  MEMOIRS. 

good  sense  of  the  community,  sustained,  as 
they  are,  by  the  judgment  of  the  most  emi- 
nent Biblical  students,  not  less  than  by  the  in- 
stincts of  humanity.  As  Judge  Read  truly 
calls  it,  the  passenger  car  is  the  poor  man's 
carriage." 

The  busy  Berlin  student,  we  have  seen, 
took  time  to  hunt  up  and  relieve  some  poor 
neighbors,  and  to  the  end  of  his  life,  however 
busy  he  might  be,  Mr.  Diman  was  a  regular 
visitor  of  the  sick  in  the  hospitals,  an  errand 
of  mercy  in  which,  hi  later  years,  his  daughter 
accompanied  him.  Her  sweet  voice  was  often 
heard  among  the  children,  following  the  les- 
sons she  had  been  taught  both  by  precept 
and  example. 

The  following  brief  article,  entitled  "  Ser- 
mons in  Storms,"  appeared  in  the  "  Journal " 
in  December,  1867,  and  well  did  Mr.  Diman 
practice  what  he  so  persuasively  preached. 

"  The  injunction  to  remember  the  poor,  a 
willing  compliance  with  which  is  always  a  lead- 
ing characteristic  of  pure  and  undefiled  reli- 
gion, has  come  to  us  during  the  past  few  days, 
charged  with  peculiar  emphasis.  Who  of  us 
has  not  heard  it  in  those  wild  northern  blasts 


"SERMONS  IN  STORMS."  167 

that  so  mercilessly  have  swept  our  streets ;  who 
of  us,  when  seated  by  our  cheerful  firesides, 
has  not  thought  of  the  homeless  and  the  des- 
titute ?  The  season  has  set  in  with  unusual 
severity,  and  finds  a  larger  number  than  usual 
unprepared  to  meet  it.  The  continued  de- 
pression of  business  is  already  telling  upon  the 
laboring  classes.  But  in  the  most  favorable 
seasons  there  must  always  be  many,  in  a  com- 
munity as  large  as  this,  who  need  a  helping 
hand  to  enable  them  to  struggle  through  the 
long  winter.  There  are  always  some  whom 
sickness  has  kept  from  their  usual  employ- 
ment, and  some  whom  death  has  deprived  of 
the  one  to  whom  they  looked  for  support. 
These  are  the  persons  most  deserving  of  help, 
for  their  poverty  is  not  the  result  of  idleness 
or  vice,  but  of  circumstances  over  which  they 
have  no  control. 

"  We  have  in  our  city  ample  provision  for 
public  charity.  The  care  of  the  poor  is  en- 
trusted to  capable  officers,  and  we  have  no 
doubt  that  the  trust  is  faithfully  and  wisely 
executed.  We  have,  also,  several  excellent 
private  organizations,  all  of  which  are  doing  a 
good  work.  But  none  of  them  should  be  al- 
lowed to  take  the  place  of  personal  effort  in 
this  direction.     That  charity  is  thrice  blessed 


168  MEMOIRS. 

which  we  administer  ourselves.  A  kindly 
word  will  sometimes  do  more  to  cheer  a  de- 
sponding heart  than  a  gift  of  clothing  or  food; 
and  the  bread  given  to  the  starving  is  sweeter 
if  a  genuine  sympathy  goes  with  it.  We  en- 
treat our  readers,  whenever  a  case  of  destitu- 
tion and  suffering  shall  come  under  their  no- 
tice, to  give  it  at  once  their  personal  attention, 
and  not  relinquish  to  any  organization  the 
most  blessed  of  all  privileges,  the  privilege  of 
making  those  around  us  happy.  We  may  rest 
assured  that  we  shall  never  hereafter  look 
back  with  repining  upon  the  time  that  has 
been  spent  in  thus  personally  administering 
to  the  wants  of  the  poor." 

Mr.  Diman  himself  bids  farewell  to  the 
year :  — 

"  The  days  which  are  declared,  in  the  most 
ancient  and  impressive  of  books,  to  be  swifter 
than  a  weaver's  shuttle,  have  again  finished 
their  appointed  round,  and  we  greet  our  read- 
ers for  the  last  time  in  eighteen  hundred  and 
sixty-seven.  It  is  only  repeating  a  common- 
place remark,  yet  one  that  to-day  suggests  it- 
self to  every  mind,  when  we  add  that  each 
year  seems  shorter  than  the  year  before. 
True,  the  external  measurements  of  time  re- 


THE   CLOSE   OF  THE    YEAR.  169 

main  unaltered.  The  planets  pursue  the  same 
even  course  which  they  pursued  when  the 
wondering  eye  of  the  patriarch  noted  the 
stately  steppings  of  Arcturus  and  the  Pleiades. 
But  the  inner  and  spiritual  milestones  of  life's 
journey  crowd  closer  and  closer  together  as 
we  draw  nigh  to  the  end,  so  that  many,  we 
doubt  not,  among  our  older  readers,  will  re- 
peat with  emphasis,  to-day,  the  solemn  burden 
of  the  Psalmist,  "  We  spend  our  years  as  a  tale 
that  is  told ;"  and  however  trite  and  familiar 
the  reflections  which  the  dying  year  awakens, 
it  can  hardly  fail  to  be  of  some  benefit  to 
every  one  of  us  to  give  a  few  sober  thoughts 
to  the  unreturning  Past.  What  have  we 
done  for  it,  and  what  has  it  done  for  us  ? 

"  It  has  been  ordered,  by  the  unerring  wis- 
dom that  shapes  all  events,  that  we  should 
weave  the  mystic  tapestry  of  Life,  like  the 
Gobelin  workmen,  from  behind,  seeing  the 
rough  shreds  and  confused  colors,  but  not  the 
complete  and  perfect  work.  It  is  a  thought 
full  of  comfort  and  hope,  amid  the  jars  and 
wrecks  of  earthly  things,  that  these  pictures 
of  time,  that  to  human  gaze  seem  so  unlovely 
and  confused,  seen  from  the  divine  side,  blend 
into  perfect  harmony.  Whether  for  good  or 
for  evil,  the  largest  results  lie  hid  from  our 


170  MEMOIRS. 

inspection.  What  any  of  us  has  consciously 
attempted  or  achieved,  is  but  a  small  part  of 
his  actual  work.  And  what  is  true  of  the  in- 
dividual life,  is  not  less  true  of  the  larger  life 
of  society.  So  that,  curiously  as  we  may  re- 
flect upon  the  events  of  the  past  year,  and  dili- 
gently as  we  may  ponder  what  seem  to  us  the 
chief  aspects  in  its  ever  shifting  scenes,  yet  it 
must  be  with  the  humbling  acknowledgment 
that  the  long  results  of  time  are  hid  from 
human  view,  and  that  no  mortal  is  worthy  to 
take  the  Book  which  discloses  the  future,  and 
to  unloose  the  seals  thereof." 


CHAPTER  IX. 

1868.    aet.  37. 

Connection  with  the  Providence  Daily  Journal.  —  Editorials. 
—  English  Politics.  —  German  Politics.  —  Franco- Prussian 
War.  —  Reviews.  —  Religious  and  Educational  Topics.  — 
Fourth-of-July,  Thanksgiving,  and  New  Year's  Articles.  — 
Christmas. 

At  the  time  of  Mr.  Diman's  comina-  to  Provi- 
dence  his  friend  Mr.  James  Burrill  Angell  was 
editor  of  the  Providence  Journal.  For  this 
paper  Mr.  Diman  began  to  write  foreign 
articles,  reviews  of  books,  or  comments  on  the 
events  of  the  day.  It  must  be  remembered,  to 
make  any  fair  estimate  of  his  life  and  charac- 
ter, that  he  was  a  preacher  and  critic,  first 
and  foremost.  The  two,  he  would  have  said, 
were  not  only  compatible,  but  could  hardly 
exist  without  each  other.  A  preacher  pro- 
claims truth  ;  a  critic,  in  the  best  sense,  leads 
men  to  see  it  in  what  exists.  The  reticence 
in  expressing  his  deepest  convictions,  and 
the  reserve  that  underlay  his  open  and  frank 
manner,  have  been  already  noticed.     Behind 


172  MEMOIRS. 

the  veil  of  the  editorial,  he  was  able  to  express 
himself  as  freely  as  in  the  pulpit,  and  from 
this  time  an  important  part  of  his  life's  work 
appeared  in  the  columns  of  a  daily  paper. 
Those  who  read  with  delight  the  liberal  dis- 
cussions of  European  affairs,  the  stimulating 
and  pertinent  articles  on  Rhode  Island  topics, 
or  listened  to  the  solemn  voice  that  set  forth 
the  mercies  of  God  at  Thanksgiving  time,  or 
bade  farewell  to  the  dying  year,  may  well 
agree  that  his  life  made  a  part  of  their  own. 

Mr.  Angfell  left  the  "  Journal,"  and  Provi- 
dence,  in  1866,  but  Mr.  Diman  continued  to 
write  for  the  paper  throughout  his  life. 

The  bulk  of  his  work  was  done  in  the  years 
immediately  following  Mr.  Angell's  departure, 
and  covered  a  wide  range  of  subjects.  His 
views  as  to  the  function  of  a  newspaper  he 
thus  sets  forth  :  —  "  The  successful  conduct  of 
a  daily  paper  aiming  to  take  high  rank  as  a 
guide  of  public  opinion  is  attended  with 
peculiar  difficulties,  difficulties  which  our 
readers  cannot  fully  appreciate.  If  we  con- 
ceived that  our  only  function  was  to  wait 
on  public  sentiment,  and  echo  the  prevailing 
opinion  around  us,  the  labor  would  be  greatly 
simplified.  But  believing  that  our  readers 
look  to  us  for  an  honest  and  straightforward 


THE  FUNCTION  OF  A   NEWSPAPER.     173 

expression  of  our  own  sentiments,  we  cannot 
avoid  the  peril  at  times  of  offending  some  for 
whom  we  cherish  the  utmost  respect,  and  of 
being  misunderstood  by  others  upon  whose 
good  opinion  we  place  the  highest  value.  The 
articles  that  appear  in  a  daily  paper  cannot 
be  prepared  with  the  care  that  is  devoted  to 
the  articles  in  a  quarterly  review.  The  good 
old  days  have  long  since  departed  when  editors 
went  home  to  tea,  leaving  the  paper  ready  for 
the  press.  We  have  often  to  write  with  a 
swift  pen,  and  no  one  can  be  more  conscious 
than  we  ourselves  are,  that  much  that  is  writ- 
ten might  be  improved,  and  that  sometimes  a 
word  is  said  which  were  better  left  unsaid. 
But  we  have  in  all  cases  submitted  to  fair  and 
manly  criticisms,  and  have  freely  opened  our 
columns,  in  every  instance,  to  those  whose 
opinions  differed  widely  from  our  own,  when- 
ever such  opinions  were  expressed  in  courteous 
and  temperate  language." 

In  English  politics  Mr.  Diman  always  had 
special  interest.  Mr.  Gladstone  has  been  the 
central  figure  there  for  years,  and  what  Mr. 
Diman  wrote  of  him  in  1868  is  still  true. 

"  Hailed  at  the  beginning  of  his  career  as 
the  rising  hope  of  the  High  Church  party,  and 
as  such  severely  handled  by  Macaulay,  in  one 


174  MEMOIRS. 

of  those  brilliant  articles  which  promised  for 
a  time  to  restore  the  Edinburgh  Review  to  its 
old  position  at  the  head  of  the  English  quar- 
terlies ;  afterwards  a  most  devoted  follower 
of  Sir  Robert  Peel,  in  his  secession  from  the 
Conservative  party  on  the  memorable  question 
of  the  Corn  Laws  ;  then  entering  the  Cabi- 
net as  member  of  a  liberal  administration, 
although  until  quite  recently  the  favorite  rep- 
resentative of  the  University  of  Oxford  ;  always 
a  distinguished  proficient  in  that  fine  classical 
scholarship  which  Oxford  so  loves  and  culti- 
vates ;  Mr.  Gladstone  has  proved  himself  alto- 
gether too  brilliant  and  versatile  a  man  to  keep, 
for  a  long  time,  on  good  terms  with  any  party. 
Always  fond  of  nice  discrimination ;  not  un- 
frequently  balancing  the  opposite  bearings 
of  a  question  with  such  appreciative  justice  as 
to  leave  his  own  final  conclusion  enveloped  in 
no  little  doubt ;  at  times  leaping  forward  to 
theoretical  results  with  such  rapidity  as  to 
leave  his  followers  in  dismay,  and  again  show- 
ing evident  irresolution  in  dealing  with  direct 
practical  issues  ;  Mr.  Gladstone  is  not  the  kind 
of  leader  to  carry  with  him  always,  such  a 
peculiarly  constituted  body  as  the  House  of 
Commons. 

"  The  opponents  of  Mr.  Gladstone  have  not 


ENGLISH  POLITICS.  175 

been  slow  to  reproach  him  with  inconsistency, 
but  we  cannot  so  interpret  his  political  career. 
It  seems  to  us  that  all  his  changes  are  capable 
of  being  easily  explained  as  the  logical  transi- 
tions of  an  active,  inquiring,  progressive  mind. 
He  is  not  ashamed  to  confess  that  thirty  years 
have  modified  his  opinions.  He  has  been 
called  mediaeval  by  one  party,  and  revolu- 
tionary by  another.  This  means  simply  that 
he  is  many-sided,  and,  like  all  men  of  large 
and  varied  culture,  he  is  liable  to  be  misun- 
derstood by  mere  party-men.  '  No  man,'  was 
once  said  in  the  hearing  of  Goethe,  *  is  a 
hero  to  his  valet.'  ( Not,'  replied  the  poet, 
'  because  the  hero  is  not  a  hero,  but  because 
the  valet  is  a  valet.'  "... 

There  were  editorials  on  "  The  Premier's 
Perplexity,"  "The  Irish  Church  Question," 
"  The  House  of  Lords,"  tracing  the  decline  of 
its  influence,  and  on  "  The  Queen,"  giving  an 
outline  of  her  inherited  tendencies  and  preju- 
dices. Mr.  Diman's  power  of  presenting  per- 
sons, as  the  embodiment  of  institutions,  was 
never  better  shown  than  in  such  articles  as 
these.  Of  the  leaders  in  England,  Disraeli 
and  Gladstone,  he  wrote  with  the  keenest  in- 
sight. His  faith  in  Mr.  Gladstone's  capacity 
of  leadership  wavered  a  little.     Years  have 


176  MEMOIRS. 

only  proved  the  truth  of  what  he  wrote  in 
1868.  "  There  is  apt  to  be  something  mediae- 
val, academic,  pedantic,  in  his  way  of  putting 
things,  indicating  after  all  a  lack  of  large 
practical  grasp.  ...  It  may  be  questioned 
whether  if  the  time  spent  by  Mr.  Gladstone  in 
investigating  the  Homeric  page,  had  been  de- 
voted to  matters  directly  before  his  eyes,  he 
would  not  have  made  a  far  more  successful 
minister. 

"  The  present  aspect  of  affairs  in  England 
is  full  of  interest  to  the  thoughtful  observer. 
Few  people  in  this  country,  we  imagine,  are 
aware  of  the  extent  of  the  revolution  which 
is  there  taking  place.  Vast  as  was  the  change 
effected  in  1832,  it  was,  as  the  '  Times ' 
truly  remarks,  insignificant  by  the  side  of  the 
change  effected  in  1867.  A  complete  trans- 
ference of  power  has  been  silently  effected, 
the  results  of  which  the  wisest  cannot  ven- 
ture to  predict.  With  a  sovereign  whose 
power  is  reduced  to  a  constitutional  fiction, 
and  whose  sceptre  has  been  rendered  more 
shadowy  by  years  of  seclusion  ;  with  a  Church 
powerless  to  define  and  vindicate  its  own 
faith,  and  confessedly  unable  to  allure  to 
its  service  the  leading  young  men  in  either 
University;  and  with  a  House  of  Lords  that 


ENGLISH  POLITICS.  177 

has  virtually  abdicated  its  functions  as  a  legis- 
lative body,  England  seems  to  be  on  the 
threshold  of  some  momentous  transformation. 
Obsolete  institutions  are  maintained  in  exist- 
ence for  a  time  by  the  respect  which  men  in- 
stinctively feel  for  what  has  long  continued, 
but  the  most  firmly  rooted  sentiment  is  in 
danger  of  being  vanquished  when  it  is  found 
that  repairs  have  come  to  be  more  troublesome 
and  costly  than  building  from  new  founda- 
tions."  .    .  . 

Mr.  Diman's  gift  at  describing  a  man  in  a 
few  words  which  bring  him  vividly  before  the 
mind,  is  well  exemplified  in  the  following  :  — 

"The  personal  traits  of  Lord  Brougham 
were  most  happily  represented  by  his  nose,  a 
feature  which  '  Punch  '  always  delighted  to 
draw,  and  which  has  been  most  aptly  de- 
scribed as  '  protuberant,  aggressive,  inquiring, 
and  defiant ;  unlovely,  but  intellectual.'  His 
caustic  temper  and  close  invective,  an  excep- 
tion to  parliamentary  usage,  involved  him  in 
frequent  personal  collisions,  and  when  on  one 
occasion  he  so  far  forgot  himself  as  to  insult, 
from  the  woolsack,  a  far  more  eminent  lawyer 
than  himself,  it  drew  forth  the  just  retort  that, 
if  Brougham  only  had  a  little  decency,  he 
would  have  a  smattering  of  almost  every- 
thing." 


178  MEMOIRS. 

His  years  of  study  in  Germany  gave  Mr. 
Diman  special  interest  in  German  affairs,  and 
he  watched  the  successive  stages  in  the  growth 
of  the  German  empire  with  the  greatest  at- 
tention. "  Those  of  our  readers,"  he  wrote  in 
July,  1866,  "  who  were  familiar  with  Berlin 
ten  years  ago,  when  the  present  king  was 
crown-prince,  will  remember  his  well-known 
habit  of  standing  by  a  window  of  his  palace 
that  faced  the  statue  of  Frederic,  chatting 
with  his  aides-de-camp.  Perhaps  even  then, 
with  the  prospect  of  succeeding  his  childless 
brother,  he  may  have  caught  some  inspiration 
from  the  gaunt  bronze  figure  that  he  could 
not  fail  to  see  whenever  he  raised  his  eye  ; 
but  his  wildest  and  most  ambitious  dreams,  if 
he  indulged  in  them,  could  hardly  have  com- 
passed the  reality  he  has  lived  to  see.  On 
one  day  the  dignified  assembly,  which  embod- 
ied the  majesty,  and  claimed  to  direct  the 
military  force  of  fifteen  dynasties,  was  issuing 
at  Frankfort  those  Federal  decrees,  to  which 
twenty-six  millions  of  the  German  race  had 
been  accustomed  to  accord  a  willing,  and 
twenty-five  millions  of  other  races  a  forced 
obedience ;  and  four  days  later  twelve  of 
these  dynasties  had  ceased  to  possess  any  in- 
dependent  political   existence.      Saxony   and 


GERMAN  POLITICS.  179 

Hanover  were  seized  without  a  struggle  ;  the 
Elbe  duchies,  the  innocent  occasion  of  the 
strife,  incorporated  with  Prussia  by  the  simple 
omission  of  a  word  ;  the  despised  and  hated 
elector  of  Hesse  driven  from  his  dominions  ; 
Oldenburg  and  Anhalt  compelled  to  renounce 
the  confederation  ;  the  lesser  dukes  forced  to 
accept  commands  in  the  Prussian  army,  or  at 
least  to  abdicate  their  separate  military  power ; 
the  fine  city  of  Hamburg  held  by  a  Prussian 
general  of  division  ;  surely,  could  the  bronze 
lips  of  Frederic  speak,  they  would  utter  grim 
satisfaction  at  such  results  as  these." 

Mr.  Diman  gathered  his  information  from 
the  foreign  papers,  and  constantly  wrote  edi- 
torials setting  forth  the  latest  views  of  German 
affairs  as  presented  in  them,  adding  his  own 
comments,  and  making  the  most  complicated 
series  of  events  perfectly  intelligible  to  his 
readers. 

Throughout  the  Franco-Prussian  war  his  pen 
was  busy.  Editorials  on  "  The  Proceedings 
of  the  French  Emperor,"  "  The  Tender  Mer- 
cies of  War,"  "  Chalons-sur-Marne,"  and  "  The 
Tuileries,"  are  among  the  most  important. 
"  No  revolution,"  he  writes,  "  would  be  com- 
plete in  France  that  lacked  a  dramatic  element, 
and  the   spectacle  of  the  white  flag  marked 


180  MEMOIRS. 

with  the  red  cross  that  now  floats  over  the 
palace  of  the  Tuileries  gratifies  a  sentiment  in 
the  national  heart  hardly  less  strong  than  the 
love  of  glory  itself.  The  palace  is  a  monu- 
ment to  the  wonderful  vicissitudes  of  French 
history  ;  and  its  walls,  had  they  tongues  to 
speak,  could  tell  a  story  stranger  and  sadder 
than  was  ever  embodied  in  any  fiction."  Then 
follows  a  brief  history  of  the  palace  from  the 
time  when  Catherine  de  Medicis  "  conceived 
the  design  of  converting  the  desolate  tile 
yard,  that  stretched  westward  from  the  Louvre, 
into  the  site  of  a  fair  royal  residence,"  trac- 
ing its  fortunes  through  the  days  of  Henry 
IV.  and  Louis  XIV.,  and  the  Reign  of  Terror. 
"  No  royal  residence  has  ever  been  the  scene 
of  more  memorable  revolutions,  but  among 
them  all,  none  has  awakened  such  hearty  ac- 
quiescence as  that  which  has  substituted  for 
the  frivolities  of  a  corrupt  court,  the  sweet 
ministrations  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity." 

The  closing  events  of  the  war  were  set  forth 
in  an  editorial  on  the  Downfall  of  Napoleon 
III.  .  .  . 

"  For  the  most  conspicuous  actor  in  this 
strange,  eventful  history,  we  confess  to  feel- 
ing little  sympathy.  Those  who  sow  the  wind 
have  no  reason  to  complain  if  they  reap  the 


THE  FRANCO-PRUSSIAN   WAR.         181 

whirlwind,  and  the  public  sentiment  of  man- 
kind recognizes  the  just  retribution  which  has 
so  swiftly  overtaken  him,  whose  supreme,  mis- 
calculating selfishness  was  willing  to  threaten 
Europe  with  the  horrors  of  universal  war.  .  .  . 
"  The  surrender  at  Sedan  will  be  memorable 
in  history,  not  so  much  for  marking  the  over- 
throw of  a  war  as  the  overthrow  of  a  system. 
It  is  devoutly  to  be  hoped  that  Csesarism  has 
received  its  death-blow.  When  our  civil  war 
broke  out,  the  announcement  was  somewhat 
prematurely  made  that  republican  institutions 
had  proved  a  failure.  The  first  European 
sovereign  to  be  convinced  of  this,  the  one  who 
urged  most  pertinaciously  the  recognition  of 
the  Southern  States,  was  Napoleon  III.  He 
may  now  profitably  ask  himself  the  question 
whether  the  system  of  personal  government 
has  proved  a  complete  success.  For  wellnigh 
twenty  years  he  has  held  the  reins  in  his  own 
hands  ;  his  absolute  will  has  controlled  the  in- 
ternal administration  not  less  than  the  foreign 
policy  of  France,  yet  in  the  hour  of  trial 
he  has  seen  his  army  of  ill-disciplined  con- 
scripts shattered  by  the  citizen-soldiery  of 
Prussia,  while  he  has  not  dared  to  trust  himself 
within  the  walls  of  his  own  capital.  He 
has  been  weighed  in  the  balances  and   found 


182  MEMOIRS. 

Wanting.  With  an  opportunity  of  making 
himself  the  organ  of  an  enlightened  public 
sentiment  seldom  vouchsafed  to  a  man  in  any 
age,  he  has  initiated  no  useful  policy  and 
created  no  permanent  institutions.  He  has 
done  nothing  to  fit  France  for  self-government ; 
he  has  interfered  with  foreign  states  only  in 
behalf  of  arbitrary  power.  His  occupation  of 
Rome  was  as  clear  an  index  of  his  political 
sympathies  as  the  disastrous  experiment  in 
Mexico,  which  proved  the  prelude  to  his  fall." 
Beside  the  foreign  articles,  some  idea  of  which 
can  be  obtained  from  the  foregoing  extracts, 
Mr.  Diman  wrote  reviews  of  books,  and  arti- 
cles of  a  more  local  character.  Tuckerman's 
"  Book  of  the  Artists "  had  a  long  notice, 
tracing  especially  the  influence  of  Rhode  Island 
artists  upon  the  growth  of  American  art. 
"  The  continuous  historical  development  of 
American  art  did  not  begin  until  Bishop 
Berkeley  induced  the  Scotch  painter  Smybert 
to  join  with  him  in  his  benevolent  scheme  of 
carrying  arts  and  letters  to  the  new  world." 
Thus  Rhode  Island  became  the  birthplace  of 
American  art. 

Some  years  later  Mr.  Diman  wrote  reviews 
for  the  "  Nation  "  and  for  some  of  the  month- 
lies, which  were  brilliant  and  suggestive.     But 


REVIEWS.  183 

for  the  "  Journal,"  while  his  reviews  were  not 
so  extended  and  elaborate,  there  were  articles 
on  new  books  which  much  more  than  set  forth 
their  merits  or  defects.  He  called  attention 
to  any  important  essays  in  the  current  maga- 
zines, and  in  examining  the  views  of  opponents, 
had  to  an  eminent  degree  the  spirit  he  com- 
mends in  the  Duke  of  Argyle. 

"  How  rare  and  beautiful,"  he  writes,  "  is 
the  spirit  that  breathes  in  the  following  sen- 
tence :  — 

"  '  Then  as  regards  opponents,  who  has  ever 
tried  to  follow  their  arguments  with  candor, 
without  finding  how  much  more  they  have  to 
say  for  their  opinions,  than  we  had  conceived 
possible  before  ?  How  strong  is  their  hold  of 
some  important  truths  to  which  we  perhaps 
had  been  comparatively  insensible,  and  how 
much  there  is  really  good  and  true  at  the 
bottom  even  of  their  very  errors.' 

"  For  expressing  these  sentiments  we  doubt 
not  that  the  Duke  himself  will  be  denounced 
by  all  such  as  believe  that  misrepresentation 
and  abuse  are  legitimate  weapons  of  religious 
controversy,  but  they  are  views  which  will 
commend  themselves  to  the  increasing  number 
who  hold  that  charity  has  a  place  among 
Christian  virtues." 


184  MEMOIRS. 

The  following  review  of  "  The  Day  of 
Doom  "  is  so  characteristic  that  it  is  given 
entire. 

"  The  curious  little  poem  which  bears  the 
above  title,  and  which  has  just  been  reprinted 
by  the  American  News  Company  of  New 
York,  may  be  best  described  as  the  Dies  Irae 
of  New  England.  We  do  not  mean  by  this 
that  it  has  the  solemn  grandeur  and  majestic 
rhythm  of  the. masterpiece  of  mediaeval  song, 
some  of  the  verses  of  which  Dr.  Johnson  could 
never  repeat  without  tears,  but  simply  that 
as  the  Dies  Irae  set  to  music  the  fundamen- 
tal religious  conceptions  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
so  the  Day  of  Doom  sets  forth  in  a  very  strik- 
ing manner  the  popular  religious  notions  pre- 
vailing in  New  England  at  the  close  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  In  one  respect  the  Day 
of  Doom  has  a  great  advantage  over  the  Dies 
Irae.  The  author  of  the  latter  poem  has 
never  been  clearly  ascertained.  While  it  has 
been  commonly  ascribed  to  Thomas  of  Celano, 
there  have  not  been  wanting  writers  to  urge 
the  claims  of  Gregory  the  Great,  and  even  of 
Felix  Hammerlin,  a  church  dignitary  of  Zu- 
rich, whose  name  was  latinized  into  Malleolus, 
or,  as  we  should  say  in  English,  Little  Hammer. 
But  respecting  the  authorship  of  the  Day  of 


"THE  DAY  OF  DOOM."  185 

Doom,  we  are  not  aware  that  the  most  auda- 
cious critic  has  ever  raised  a  question.  We 
may  question  whether  any  such  man  as 
Homer  ever  existed ;  we  may  give  up  the 
Epistles  of  Phalaris  ;  we  may  reduce  Ossian 
to  a  Scotch  mist ;  but  there  seems  no  good 
reason  to  doubt  that  the  Day  of  Doom  was 
actually  composed,  as  the  title-page  declares, 
'  by  Michael  Wigglesworth,  A.  M.,  teacher  of 
the  church  at  Maiden,  in  New  England.'  Our 
young  readers  perhaps  need  to  be  informed 
that  in  those  good  old  days,  when  Quakers 
were  whipped,  and  witches  were  hung,  the 
duties  of  the  ministry  were  considered  too  ar- 
duous for  any  single  individual,  and  accord- 
ingly most  churches  rejoiced  in  two  spiritual 
heads,  a  pastor  and  a  teacher.  That  the  Rev. 
Michael  Wigglesworth  is  not,  after  all,  a 
myth,  but  did  actually,  and  in  the  flesh,  hold 
this  office,  is  proved  beyond  any  reasonable 
doubt  from  the  fact  that  there  still  exists  in 
print  a  funeral  sermon,  setting  forth  his  vir- 
tues, which  was  preached  at  Maiden,  June  24, 
1705,  by  that  most  modest  and  veracious  of 
Massachusetts  divines,  the  Reverend  Cotton 
Mather,  D.D.,  F.R.S. 

"  No  poetry  was  more  popular  in  New  Eng- 
land a  century  ago  than  the  Day  of  Doom. 


186  MEMOIRS. 

It  was  first  published  in  1662,  and  the  first 
edition,  consisting  of  eighteen  hundred  copies, 
was  sold  within  a  year,  a  popularity  which,  when 
we  take  into  account  the  extent  of  the  reading 
public  of  that  age,  is  not  surpassed  by  the 
most  famed  productions  of  Scott,  or  Dickens, 
in  our  own  time.  The  poem  at  once  took  its 
place  by  the  side  of  the  Catechism  ;  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  present  century  many  an  aged 
person  was  alive  who  could  repeat  almost  the 
whole  from  memory.  In  his  funeral  sermon, 
Cotton  Mather  speaks  of  it  as  having  '  been 
often  reprinted  in  both  Englands  and  may 
find  our  children  till  the  Day  itself  arrive.' 

"  As  the  title  indicates,  the  poem  is  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  Day  of  Judgment.  The  various 
conditions  of  men,  who  will  make  their  appear- 
ance on  that  dread  occasion,  are  represented 
as  coming  before  the  Final  Arbiter  and  urg- 
ing their  several  pleas.  After  the  saints  have 
been  justified,  the  several  sorts  of  reprobates 
are  described.  Among  these  are  hypocrites, 
4  civil  honest  men,'  and  heathen.  But  alto- 
gether the  most  remarkable  and  interesting 
of  this  class  are  the  reprobate  infants,  who  in 
their  turn  come  forward,  and  urge  the  injus- 
tice of  being  made  to  suffer  eternal  torments 
for  a  sin  which  they  had    never  committed, 


«THE  DAY   OF  DOOM."  187 

and  for  which  Adam  alone,  they  claim,  should 
be  held  responsible.     Say  the  infants  :  — 

'  Not  we,  but  he  ate  of  the  tree, 

whose  fruit  was  interdicted  ; 
Yet  on  us  all  of  his  sad  Fall 

the  punishment's  inflicted. 
How  could  we  sin,  that  had  not  been, 

or  how  is  his  sin,  our, 
Without  consent,  which  to  prevent 

we  never  had  the  power.' 

"  To  this  shocking  theological  heresy  the 
Final  Judge,  or  .we  should  rather  say,  the  Rev. 
Michael  Wigglesworth,  teacher  of  the  church 
at  Maiden,  replies.  His  words  deserve  to  be 
quoted  as  a  most  curious  illustration  of  the 
popular  theology  of  the  time.  We  assure  our 
readers  that  the  whole  was  not  introduced  as 
a  grim  burlesque,  but  expressing  the  serious 
convictions  of  that  age.  After  reading  these 
lines  no  one  will  cavil  at  the  remark  of  the 
editor  of  the  volume,  that  l  Mr.  Wigglesworth 
borrowed  little  from  other  poets.'  This  is 
the  answer  to  the  plea  of  the  infants  respect- 
ing their  relation  to  Adam  :  — 

1  He  was  designed  of  all  Mankind 

to  be  a  public  Head  ; 
A  common  Root,  whence  all  should  shoot, 

and  stand  in  all  their  stead. 
He  stood  and  fell,  did  ill  or  well, 

.not  for  himself  alone, 
But  for  you  all,  who  now  his  Fall 

and  trespass  would  disown. 


188  MEMOIRS. 

'Would  you  have  griev'd  to  have  received 

through  Adam  so  much  good, 
As  had  been  your  forevermore, 

if  he  at  first  had  stood  ? 
Would  you  have  said, '  We  ne'er  obey'd 

nor  did  thy  laws  regard  ; 
It  ill  befits  with  benefits, 

us,  Lord,  to  so  reward  '  ? 

'  Since  then  to  share  in  his  welfare, 

you  would  have  been  content, 
You  may  with  reason  share  in  his  treason, 
and  in  the  punishment.' 

"  But  while  the  relation  of  infants  to  Adam 
is  a  crime,  still  a  distinction  is  drawn :  — 

'  A  crime  it  is,  therefore  in  bliss 

you  may  not  hope  to  dwell  ; 
But  unto  you  I  shall  allow 
the  easiest  room  in  Hell.'  " 

Questions  of  the  day  could  not  fail  to  in- 
terest Mr.  Diman.  In  an  editorial  on  "  Sec- 
tarian Religion  in  Public  Schools,"  he  main- 
tained that  the  children  of  the  Baptist,  the 
Quaker,  the  Methodist,  and  the  Catholic,  must 
meet  at  school  upon  exact  terms  of  equality. 
He  also  wrote  on  "  Our  Roman  Catholic 
Brethren,"  and  a  "  New  View  of  Ritualism." 
"It  is  always  easier  to  ridicule  the  external 
badges  of  a  party  than  to  appreciate  their 
honest  motives,"  he  wrote ;  and  in  these  ar- 
ticles he  extended  "  the  fair  play  to  our  Rit- 


A   FREE   CHURCH.  189 

ualistic  friends,"  which  he  was  of  the  opinion 
they  had  not  received. 

In  a  long  article  on  a  Free  Church,  he  set 
forth  his  convictions  of  the  importance  of  the 
subject :  — 

"  There  is  no  practical  problem  now  press- 
ing with  more  urgency  upon  the  consideration 
of  Protestant  Christians,  of  every  name,  than 
that  which  relates  to  the  most  efficient  meth- 
ods of  placing  the  Gospel  within  the  easy 
reach  of  every  class  in  the  community.  On 
the  solution  of  this  problem  depends  the  fur- 
ther question  whether  the  whole  voluntary  sys- 
tem shall  be  regarded  as  a  success.  For  few 
will  hesitate  to  confess,  that,  if  the  voluntary 
system  simply  means  that  those  who  can  af- 
ford it  shall  enjoy  the  privilege  of  listening, 
for  a  brief  portion  of  one  day  in  seven,  to  the 
polished  discourses  of  favorite  pulpit  orators, 
and  the  strains  of  well-paid  tenors  and  so- 
pranos, the  sooner  the  general  religious  in- 
struction of  the  people  is  undertaken  by  the 
State  the  better.  The  crying  fault  of  the 
voluntary  system  is  its  exclusiveness,  and  no 
one  can  tread  the  nave  of  a  great  European 
minster,  where  the  rich  light,  streaming 
through    the    painted    window,    bathes    king 


190  MEMOIRS. 

and  beggar  alike  as  they  kneel  together  be- 
fore a  common  Maker,  without  feeling  that 
American  Christians  have  much  to  learn  re- 
specting the  right  method  of  worshiping  that 
Being,  who  is  no  respecter  of  persons."   .   .  . 

All  educational  problems  were  of  interest 
to  Mr.  Diman,  especially  were  his  sympathies 
called  out  for  the  deaf.  A  lengthy  article  is 
devoted  to  an  historical  review  of  the  Methods 
of  Deaf -Mute  Education.  The  public  schools 
also  received  his  attention.  For  six  years  he 
was  on  the  school  board,  and  had  a  personal 
interest  in  their  conduct.  He  called  attention 
through  the  "  Journal "  to  their  needs,  or  to 
the  annual  reports,  and  pleaded  for  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  summer  school  where  some- 
thing of  the  Kindergarten  system  could  be  in- 
troduced. 

The  Rhode  Island  Historical  Society  also 
felt  the  stimulus  of  his  interest,  and  he  wrote 
the  "  seminal  articles  "  l  on  Brown  University 
affairs  to  which  his  letters  refer. 

The  love  for  his  birthplace  found  expres- 
sion in  articles  on  "  the  first  Church  in  Bris- 
tol," on  "  the  late  Robert  Rogers,"  one  of  the 
famous  merchants  of  the  old  seaport,  and  on 

1  See  page  161. 


HOLIDAY  ARTICLES.  191 

"  Crowne  the  Poet,"  who  was  singularly  con- 
nected with  the  town.     The  fair  peninsula, 

"  Whose  girdled  charms 
Were  Philips'  ancient  sway  —  " 

"  narrowly  escaped  the  odd  fate  of  being-  con- 
ferred by  the  good-natured  Charles  II.  upon 
the  English  comic  poet,"  an  episode  in  the 
history  of  the  colonies  which  is  recounted 
with  much  interest. 

In  addition  to  these  articles,  and  many 
more  on  kindred  subjects,  for  six  or  eight 
years,  Mr.  Diman  wrote  the  annual  holiday 
articles,  which  were  full  of  his  own  charm  and 
grace. 

For  the  Fourth  of  July  he  wrote  short  his- 
torical essays,  usually  ending  in  a  plea  that  the 
day  should  not  be  degraded  into  a  common 
carnival. 

"  The  profoundest  conditions  of  national 
development  are  spiritual  rather  than  physical. 
.  .  .  This  is  the  day  in  which  the  inspirations 
of  nationality  are  centered. 

...  "In  spite  of  the  noisy  demonstrations 
which  have  rendered  it  well-nigh  intolerable, 
the  Fourth  of  July  is  an  anniversary  full  of 
proud  and  sacred  recollections,  a  day  in  the 
calendar  which  no  intelligent  American  will 
ever  willingly  see  forgotten   or  disregarded. 


192  MEMOIRS. 

One  of  the  purest  patriots  of  the  Revolution 
predicted  that  its  annual  return  would  never 
cease  to  be  the  occasion  of  patriotic  rejoicing, 
and  for  half  a  century  the  elder  Adams  was 
spared  to  see  his  words  verified  in  the  gather- 
ing of  his  fellow-citizens  to  the  temples  of 
religion,  where  with  solemn  ceremonial,  with 
the  voice  of  thanksgiving,  and  with  words  of 
eloquence,  the  fires  were  kindled  afresh  on 
the  public  altars.  We  deeply  regret  that  all 
this  is  changed,  and  that  the  Day  which  was 
once  celebrated  with  fit  decorum  has  been  al- 
lowed to  sink  into  an  unmeaning  carnival. 
We  do  not  complain  of  the  boys.  We  have 
no  desire  to  see  their  fun  restricted.  But  we 
would  have  grown-up  men  keep  the  festival 
after  a  different  fashion.  They  are  old  enough 
to  appreciate  its  lessons." 

The  Thanksgiving  articles  express  the  love 
of  home  and  family  so  characteristic  of  their 
writer,  and  the  Christmas  celebrations  are  ten- 
der with  his  love  of  children.  "  In  this 
over-worked  and  weary  world  little  is  left  of 
Heaven  save  childhood  with  its  innocent  joys. 
Each  new-born  babe,  had  we  but  eyes  to  dis- 
cern it,  repeats  the  old  miracle  of  divinity 
veiled  in  the   flesh,   and   except   we  become 


NEW   YEAR'S  ARTICLES.  193 

as  little  children,  Heaven  hides  itself  from  our 
searching1  ken." 

For  New  Year's  there  are  little  sermons 
full  of  hope  and  courage,  and  constant  look- 
ing for  the  things  that  are  not  seen  :  — 

"  As  soldiers  who  with  slow  step  and  sol- 
emn dirge  have  followed  a  comrade  to  his 
grave,  soon  as  the  funeral  service  has  been 
completed  strike  up  a  lively  march,  so  we, 
who  have  just  paid  the  last  sad  rites  to  Sixty- 
seven,  hasten  this  morning  to  offer  a  cheery 
welcome  to  Sixty-eight.  By  such  swift  tran- 
sition are  we  ever  gliding  from  the  Past  to  the 
Future  ;  so  shadowy  and  evanescent  is  that 
ever-changing  Present,  which  we  seek  in  vain 
to  stay  in  its  restless  course.  In  the  pressure 
of  new  duties  that  crowd  thick  upon  us,  we 
have  little  time  to  bewail  those  that  we  have 
left  undone.  A  wiser  than  any  human  teach- 
ing warns  us  to  cast  every  weight  aside,  and 
run  the  race  that  is  set  before  us.  For  our 
work  lies  in  front,  and  not  in  the  rear  ;  and 
the  lessons  of  bygone  experiences  are  only 
then  useful  when  they  lead  us  to  act  more 
wisely  hereafter.  Not  from  the  things  that 
have  been,  but  from  the  things  that  shall  be, 
does  religion  draw  her  most  inspiring  motives, 


194  MEMOIRS. 

and  ever  from  the  earthly  Jerusalem  does  the 
eye  of  faith  turn  to  the  Jerusalem  which  is 
mother  of  us  all." 

This  unknown  work  of  newspaper  writing 
sprang  from  sincere  conviction. 

"  Of  what  value  are  letters,  if  they  withdraw 
us  from  the  duties  of  life  ? "  he  writes. 
"  There  is  no  room  in  this  land  for  the  clois- 
tered seclusion  of  the  old  world.  In  a  republic 
recognizing  political  equality  as  its  corner- 
stone, every  man,  and  especially  every  man  of 
learning  and  culture,  owes  the  commonwealth 
a  debt.  When  public  opinion  shapes  with 
resistless  power  the  course  of  events,  and  the 
principles  embraced  by  the  masses  are  the  in- 
spiration of  political  action,  those  who  are 
qualified  to  mould  opinion,  and  enforce  princi- 
ples, should  be  the  very  last  to  retire  from  the 
arena." 

It  was  in  this  spirit  Mr.  Diman's  editorials 
were  written.  They  were  written  with  a  rapid 
pen  as  he  says,  but  it  is  amazing,  in  looking 
over  the  large  volume  that  contains  them,  to 
find  such  finished  and  careful  work.  As  his 
sentences  fell  from  his  lips  perfectly  balanced 
and  rounded,  or  crisp  and  epigrammatic,  ac- 
cording to  his  theme,  so  with  his  pen.     He 


CHRISTMAS.  195 

had  no  reserves  of  learning.  It  was  all  at  com- 
mand, ready  to  draw  upon  at  the  instant, 
and  at  the  service  of  all.  It  illuminated  his 
simplest  paragraph,  and  weighted  his  strongest 
argument. 

But  few  outside  the  Journal  office  knew  the 
extent  of  his  work,  or  conceived  of  the  variety 
of  subjects  he  treated.  He  held  no  public 
positions,  but  who  shall  say  that  "  the  earnest 
responsibilities  of  the  citizen  "  were  not  wor- 
thily fulfilled  ? 

The  psalm  in  prose  for  Christmas,  1868, 
touches  the  chord  which  vibrated  throughout 
his  life,  to  which  all  else  was  tuned.  The 
hearing  of  this  "  heavenly  strain,"  amid  the 
din  of  busy  daily  life,  gave  him  his  power  and 
influence.  It  was  this  that  opened  his  ears 
to  the  "  music  of  humanity." 

"  It  was  while  standing  at  sunrise  on  the 
ramparts  of  Quebec,  as  Mr.  Webster  tells  us, 
and  listening  to  the  morning  drum-beat  as  it 
reverberated  across  the  plains  of  Abraham,  that 
the  fine  thought  was  first  suggested  to  him, 
which  was  afterwards  elaborated  into  one  of 
his  most  effective  sentences,  of  the  martial 
airs  of  England  keeping  company  with  the 
hours  and  encircling  the  earth  with  a  contin- 


196  MEMOIRS. 

uous  strain  of  music.  But  a  thought  more 
sublime  than  this  may  suggest  itself,  this 
morning,  to  any  who  have  an  ear  for  the 
'  music  of  humanity  ; '  the  thought  of  a  heav- 
enly strain  that  sounds  from  age  to  age,  as 
well  as  from  land  to  land,  a  strain  that  through 
.eighteen  weary  and  toiling  centuries  has  made 
itself  heard  above  the  tumult  of  the  nations, 
proclaiming  peace  on  earth  and  good  will  to 
men,  and  which  this  morning,  first  greeting 
the  early  dawn  in  what  is  probably  the  most 
ancient  monument  of  Christian  architecture  in 
the  world,  the  church  of  the  Nativity  at  Beth- 
lehem, next  circling  amid  the  Isles  of  Greece, 
then  filling  with  the  grandest  harmonies  of 
modern  music  the  matchless  dome  of  Michael 
Angelo,  and  so  onward  and  onward  through 
sunny  regions,  where  the  Almighty  is  still 
worshiped  in  the  ritual  of  Gregory  and  Am- 
brose, or  where,  beneath  a  more  northern  sky, 
the  disciples  of  Calvin  and  of  Luther  join  in 
joyous  observance  of  the  one  great  event  to 
which  Catholic  and  Protestant  alike  look  back, 
crossing  ocean  and  continent,  making  the 
waves  clap  their  hands  and  the  mountains 
break  forth  into  singing,  telling  in  every 
tongue  the  same  marvelous  story,  how  Christ 
was  born,  the  Saviour  of  the  world !     So  let 


CHRISTMAS.  197 

it  go,  for  in  that  strain  are  the  hopes  of  men. 
With  it  go  the  holiest  influences,  the  purest 
joys,  that  sweeten  the  life  of  man  !  Healing 
is  in  its  wings,  and  wherever  its  divine  melody 
is  heard  amid  earth's  unquiet  strife,  the  wilder- 
ness and  the  solitary  place  are  glad,  and  the 
desert  rejoices  and  blossoms  as  the  rose. 

'  Ring  in  the  day,  sweet  chiming  bells, 
Earth's  strangest  tale  your  music  tells, 
How  Christ,  a  little  infant,  came, 
Born  'mid  the  beasts  of  Bethlehem. 

Ring  on,  sweet  bells, 

Till  mingling  swells, 
That  tell  his  birth,  chime  round  the  earth.'  " 


CHAPTER   X. 

1868.    aet.  37. 

Letters  to  President  Angell.  —  Academic  Duties.  —  Read- 
ing. —  College  Lecture.  —  Dictation.  —  Outline  of  Course 
of  Study.  —  Saturday  Questions.  —  Renaissance.  —  Ex- 
amination. —  Modern  History.  —  Constitution  of  the 
United  States.  —  Recollections  of  the  Class-Room. 

The  letters  to  President  James  B.  Angell, 
who  in  1868  was  still  in  Burlington,  Vermont, 
have  naturally  a  full  account  of  Mr.  Diman's 
college  work.  His  own  words,  in  relation  to 
another,  describe  himself.  "  A  true  professor, 
like  a  poet,  must  be  born,  not  made.  He 
must  have  original  aptitudes,  and  be  swayed 
by  enthusiasm  for  some  particular  study. 
There  is  no  more  ambiguous  compliment  than 
to  say  that  a  man  could  excel  in  any  branch  ; 
such  general  and  indeterminate  excellence  is 
never  the  highest  sort.  True,  Fontinelle  de- 
clared of  Leibnitz  that  he  '  drove  the  sciences 
abreast ; '  but  universal  geniuses  are  century 
plants.  The  highest  style  of  academic  teach- 
ing can  never   be  attained,  save  when    each 


ACADEMIC  DUTIES.  199 

professor  is  called  to  his  specific  work  by  a 
diviner  election  than  that  of  the  college  cor- 
poration." * 

TO    PRESIDENT    ANGELL. 

Providence,  July  8,  1868. 

My  prodigious  devotion  to  academic  duties 
is  the  only  excuse  I  can  urge  for  allowing  your 
letter  to  remain  so  long  unanswered.  The 
term  has  been  a  very  busy,  as  well  as  pleasant, 
one  with  me.  In  the  first  part  I  wrote  a 
wholly  new  course  of  lectures  on  the  Reforma- 
tion, the  most  perplexing  and  difficult  of  all 
periods.  How  unlike  the  simple  problems 
and  easily  analyzed  phenomena  of  the  mediae- 
val era  !  The  fundamental  question  raised, 
that  of  the  limits  of  authority,  remains  to-day 
about  where  the  Council  of  Trent  left  it.  In 
the  latter  part  of  the  term  I  went  pretty  fully 
into  Colonial  History,  which  I  endeavored  to 
present  in  its  chief  lines  of  development  as  a 
continuation  of  the  great  European  movement, 
closing  with  new  lectures  on  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  studied,  not  so  much 
with  regard  to  specific  details,  as  with  regard 
to  fundamental  political  ideas,  which  were  re- 
viewed historically,  as,  e.  g.,  the  theory  of  sov- 

1  In  Memoriam  :  Robinson  Potter  Dunn,  p.  64. 


200  MEMOIRS. 

ereignty  compared  with  the  feudal ;  the  federal 
idea  compared  with  the  ancient  and  European  ; 
the  theory  of  representation  compared  with 
the  English,  not  in  form  but  in  principle. 

In  this  last  I  became  very  much  interested. 
Many  suggestions  I  derived  from  Brownson, 
J.  C.  Hurd,  and  the  recent  works  of  Farrar. 
It  does  not  seem  to  me  that  either  Kent  or 
Story  ever  studied  the  Constitution  profoundly 
in  its  relation  to  the  whole  course  of  modern 
political  development.  The  former  is  particu- 
larly inexact  in  some  of  his  statements.  One 
part  of  the  study  in  which  I  took  great  de- 
light was  in  tracing  the  influence  of  Roman 
ideas  on  our  political  maxims.  In  this,  Maine's 
"  Ancient  Law  "  was  a  help. 

I  have  also  had  a  capital  class  in  Political 
Economy,  in  point  of  numbers  by  far  the 
largest  I  ever  had.  It  is,  you  remember,  an 
elective  study.  I  enjoy  teaching  it,  as  it  ad- 
mits of  such  clear  analysis  and  precise  state- 
ment. 

Besides  a  good  many  books  needed  for 
my  special  work,  I  have  recently  been  reading 
the  concluding  volumes  of  Motley,  and  am 
just  finishing  Kirk's  "Charles  the  Bold." 
The  sin  of  all  American  historians  is  diff use- 
ness.     Why  do  they  not  imitate  the  ancients  ? 


POLITICAL  ECONOMY.  201 

Have  you  looked  into  the  new  "  History  of 
England  "  by  Pearson  ?  He  makes  no  claims 
to  original  research,  but  condenses  all  the 
latest  results,  which  in  the  Saxon  and  Norman 
periods  is  a  great  convenience.  There  is  also 
a  new  "History  of  the  Norman  Conquest"  by 
Freeman,  whose  "  History  of  Federal  Govern- 
ments "  I  have  found  very  useful.  I  keep  the 
run  of  English  and  foreign  publications,  and 
get  for  the  library  all  that  is  valuable.  For 
my  religion  I  have  been  reading  the  "Life  of 
Lacordaire,"  and  "  Unspoken  Sermons,"  by 
George  Macdonald,  a  book  which  you  would 
enjoy. 

Accept  this  letter  as  only  a  brief  part  of 
what  I  might  say,  were  we  face  to  face. 

The  lectures  on  Political  Economy  were  a 
Junior  "  elective "  for  the  last  half  year. 
There  were  usually  about  thirty  lectures,  two 
being  delivered  each  week  of  the  term.  Mr. 
Diman  divided  the  subject  broadly  into  two 
parts,  Production  and  Exchange.  To  the 
lectures  strictly  belonging  to  his  subject  he 
added  a  lecture  on  the  history  of  Socialism  in 
the  United  States,  describing  the  growth  of 
the  various  communities  which  have  flourished 
here.     At  the  end  of  the  course  he  usually 


202  MEMOIRS. 

gave  a  lecture  on  taxation,  and  one  on  the 
National  debt. 

TO    PRESIDENT    ANGELL. 

Providence,  November  11,  1868. 
We  are  getting  on  very  quietly  at  college. 
I  have  been  hard  at  work  studying  French 
institutions  at  the  time  of  Charlemagne.  I 
find  that  from  natural  taste  my  lectures  more 
and  more  resolve  themselves  into  a  study  of 
political  institutions.  I  derive  much  help 
from  the  capital  works  of  Lehuerou. 

To  the  young  men  of  the  Senior  class,  as- 
sembled in  his  lecture-room  in  University  Hall, 
in  the  first  week  of  the  college  term,  Mr.  Di- 
man  was  accustomed  to  deliver  a  lecture  upon 
the  value  and  uses  of  the  study  of  History. 
He  usually  read  the  lecture  here  given,  which 
was  written  in  1865.  If,  in  the  latter  part  of 
his  life,  Mr.  Diman  dispensed  almost  entirely 
with  notes,  the  substance  was  still  essentially 
the  same,  as  is  shown  by  the  lecture-book  of 
Mr.  F.  R.  Hazard,  of  the  last  class  Mr.  Di- 
man instructed  (1881). 

One  modification  in  the  lecture  may  be 
specially  noted,  as  marking  the  growth  of  Mr. 
Diman's  own  conceptions  :    the  spiritualizing 


INTRODUCTORY  LECTURE.  203 

of  his  views.  As  written,  a  sentence  reads, 
"  Religion  first  taught  the  unity  of  the  race." 
A  pencil  has  crossed  out  the  first  word,  and 
the  sentence  stands,  "  Revelation  first  taught 
the  unity  of  the  race."  There  are  no  means 
of  telling  how  long  an  interval  of  time  elapsed 
between  the  original  writing  and  the  correc- 
tion. But  the  pencil  makes  marked  modifica- 
tion, cutting  out  a  few  paragraphs  and  adding 
fresh  illustrations,  and  is  the  guide  which  has 
been  followed  in  the  version  of  the  lecture 
here  given :  — 

INTRODUCTORY   LECTURE. 

Before  entering  upon  a  course  so  conspicu- 
ous in  academic  discipline  as  History,  the 
scope  and  method  of  the  study  deserve  to  be 
considered. 

"  A  Professor  of  History,  if  I  understand 
his  duties  rightly,"  said  Dr.  Arnold  (in  his 
Inaugural  Lecture  at  Oxford),  "  has  two  prin- 
cipal objects :  he  must  try  to  acquaint  his 
hearers  with  the  nature  and  value  of  the  treas- 
ure for  which  they  are  searching  ;  and  secondly, 
he  must  try  to  show  them  the  best  and  speed- 
iest method  of  discovering  and  extracting  it. 
The  first  of  these  two  things  may  be  done 
once   for   all ;    but   the   second    must    be   his 


204  MEMOIRS. 

habitual  employment,  the  business  of  his  pro- 
fessorial life."  x 

At  the  present  time,  then,  I  shall  discuss 
the  nature  and  value  of  historical  studies ;  and 
I  shall  fail  of  my  purpose  if  I  do  not  satisfy 
you,  not  simply  that  the  study  deserves  the 
important  place  assigned  it  in  academic  course, 
but  that  for  the  American  student  it  has  cer- 
tain distinct  and  peculiar  claims,  not  alone  as 
completing  the  culture  of  a  scholar,  but  even 
more  as  providing  an  essential  part  of  the 
education  of  the  citizen.  It  is  a  study  that 
yields  to  no  other  in  its  practical  bearings. 

Gold  win  Smith  informs  us  that  when  the 
chair  of  Modern  History  was  founded  at  Ox- 
ford in  the  reign  of  George  I.,  the  primary 
object  was  to  train  students  for  the  public 
service.  But  the  spirit  of  our  institutions 
does  not  contemplate  the  training  of  a  distinct 
class  for  any  specific  public  duty.  It  is  our 
glory  that  all  positions  of  public  influence 
and  honor  are  thrown  open  to  all  classes  of 
the  people  ;  but  with  this  opportunity  is  im- 
posed at  the  same  time  the  responsibility  —  a 
responsibility  that  rests  with  peculiar  weight 
on  such  as  claim  to  be  educated  —  of  being 
qualified  for  the  performance  of  these  duties. 

1  Arnold's  Modern  History,  p.  26. 


INTRODUCTORY  LECTURE.  205 

The  value  of  History  has  been  very  vari- 
ously estimated  by  different  men  and  at  dif- 
ferent times.  Dr.  Johnson,  it  is  well  known, 
despised  it ;  and  the  saying  of  Sir  Robert 
Walpole,  that  it  was  a  tissue  of  untruths,  has 
been  often  quoted.  Montaigne,  in  his  inimi- 
table essays,  does  not  scruple  to  confess  that 
he  loved  to  read  History  for  the  reason  simply 
that  it  was  pleasant  and  easy.  But  Johnson's 
vigorous  understanding  was  yet  too  narrow 
in  its  range  to  comprehend  the  broad  aspects 
and  majestic  sweeps  of  History ;  Walpole 
knew  it  only  as  the  gossip  of  courts  ;  while 
Montaigne,  though  living  in  the  midst  of  the 
most  momentous  of  modern  centuries,  seems 
never  to  have  felt  its  pulsations,  but  in  his 
secluded  tower  thought  of  History,  not  as  the 
living  drama  unfolding  about  him  every  hour, 
but  as  the  story  preserved  in  the  unimpas- 
sioned  pages  of  Plutarch.  And  if  History  be 
regarded  as  no  more  than  the  chronicle  of 
past  events,  if  it  teaches  no  lessons  of  truth 
and  duty,  if  its  successive  evolutions  have  no 
vital  and  necessary  relation  to  the  living  pres- 
ent, then  was  Montaigne  right  in  regarding  it 
as  simply  "  pleasant  and  easy." 

It  is,  however,  the  more  surprising  that 
Bacon,  in  his  famous  division  of  the  parts  of 


206  MEMOIRS. 

human  learning  in  accordance  with  the  parts 
of  man's  understanding,  assigning  History  to 
the  memory,  Poetry  to  the  imagination,  and 
Philosophy  to  the  reason,  should  still  have 
failed  to  conceive  of  History  as  anything 
more  than  chronicle.  "  History,"  says  he, 
"  which  may  be  called  past  and  present  His- 
tory, is  of  three  kinds,  according  to  the  object 
which  it  propoundeth  or  pretendeth  to  repre- 
sent ;  for  it  either  represents  a  time,  or  a  per- 
son, or  an  action.  The  first  we  call  Chronicles, 
the  second,  Lives,  and  the  third,  Narratives  or 
Relations."  1 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  was  not  until  three- 
quarters  of  a  century  after  the  publication  of 
the  "  Advancement  of  Learning "  that  the 
first  adequate  conception  of  the  study  was  set 
forth  by  Bossuet  in  his  celebrated  discourse 
on  Universal  History.  It  is  a  fact  to  be  re- 
membered that  Christianity  alone,  teaching,  as 
it  did,  that  God  had  made  of  one  blood  all 
nations  of  the  earth,  could  supply  that  idea  of 
the  organic  unity  of  the  human  race,  which 
forms  the  basis  of  the  Philosophy  of  History. 
The  religious  idea  of  the  unity  and  universal- 
ity of  Providence  suggested  the  philosophic 
idea  of  the  unity  and  universality  of  human 
history. 

1  Bacon's  Works,  vol.  vi.,  p.  189. 


INTRODUCTORY  LECTURE.  207 

This  grand  conception,  presented  by  Bos- 
suet  from  a  point  of  view  too  exclusively  re- 
ligious, was  in  the  next  century  extended  by 
the  Italian  Vico,  in  his  "  New  Science,"  pub- 
lished in  1725,  to  political  affairs,  while  it  was 
reserved  for  the  German  Herder,  before  that 
century  had  closed,  in  1784,  to  trace  in  his 
"  Ideas  relating  to  the  Philosophy  of  History," 
the  connection  between  physical  phenomena 
and  the  progress  of  society.  To  these  three 
illustrious  thinkers  the  Philosophy  of  History 
owes  its  origin.  Representing  three  different 
nations,  they  represent  at  the  same  time  the 
three  different  elements  to  which  History  in 
its  last  analysis  must  be  reduced.  Bossuet,  a 
theologian,  lays  greatest  emphasis  on  the  di- 
vine element,  Vico,  jurisconsult,  on  the  hu- 
man, and  Herder,  a  man  of  universal  culture, 
on  the  natural.  But  these  three  elements, 
God,  man,  and  nature,  are  the  three  essential 
constituents  of  History.  In  the  present  cen- 
tury the  philosophic  study  of  History  has  been 
simply  an  attempt  to  follow  out  these  three 
directions.  A  disposition  to  lay  exclusive 
stress  upon  some  single  one  of  these  elements 
is  the  fault  of  most  modern  works.1 

This  sketch  of  the  progress  of  Historical 

1  E.  g.,  Guizot,  Buckle. 


208  MEMOIRS. 

study  has  already  in  part  exhibited  to  us  its 
nature,  and  only  by  comprehending  its  nature 
can  we  appreciate  its  true  value. 

We  have  seen,  that,  as  conceived  by  the 
most  penetrating  minds,  History  is  not  a  dead 
and  disconnected  chronicle,  but  is  instinct 
with  order  and  life,  that  its  phenomena  must 
be  made  in  every  case  to  illustrate  principles, 
and  that  its  truths,  certified  by  actual  and  long 
experience,  are  truths  which  wake 

"To  perish  never." 

To  quote  a  saying  not  less  true  for  being 
threadbare,  "  History  is  Philosophy  teaching 
by  example,"  and  its  teachings  are  all  the  more 
impressive  and  pointed  because  drawn  from 
the  experience  of  successive  generations  of 
men  like  ourselves  ;  setting  forth  truths,  not 
cold  and  abstract,  like  those  of  natural  science, 
but  burning  with  the  passions,  burdened  by 
the  sufferings,  and  gilded  with  the  hopes  of 
our  common  humanity ;  its  pages  tragic  at 
times,  as  those  which  picture  the  weakness  of 
Lear,  and  the  remorse  of  Macbeth ;  at  times 
melodious  and  splendid,  as  the  seraphic  chorus 
of  Milton's  angels. 

The  question  here  naturally  arises,  how  far 
History  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  science ;  and 
how  far  its  facts,  arranged  and  classified,  are 


INTRODUCTORY  LECTURE.  209 

capable  of  yielding  by  established  rules  of  in- 
duction any  fixed  laws  of  historical  develop- 
ment ;  a  question  which  marks  the  limit  to 
which  the  study  has  thus  far  been  carried, 
and  which  at  present  is  the  foremost  problem 
presented  to  the  historical  student. 

The  Science  of  History  and  the  Philoso- 
phy of  History  are,  however,  not  the  same. 
Without  announcing  that  History  is  a  science, 
we  may  claim  that  it  has  a  Philosophy  ;  in 
other  words,  without  asserting  that  the  actions 
of  men,  like  the  events  in  the  physical  world, 
are  governed  by  fixed  and  inevitable  laws, 
and  that  these  laws  can  be  deduced  with  the 
certainty  with  which  we  deduce  the  law  of 
gravitation,  we  may  assume  that  there  exists 
a  divine  order  in  History,  and  that  the  great 
lessons  set  forth  in  the  successive  evolutions 
of  this  order  may  be  interpreted.  Without 
holding,  vvith  Buckle,  that  the  history  of  civil- 
ization is  like  the  growth  of  a  tree,  we  may, 
with  Guizot,  analyze  its  successive  phases. 

This  distinction  between  the  Science  of 
History  and  the  Philosophy  of  History  is  still 
more  clearly  seen  if  we  consider  the  two  fun- 
damental truths  on  which  the  Philosophy  of 
History  is  built.  These  are  :  1st,  Unity ;  2d, 
Progress.     These   are    truths   which    no   in- 


210  MEMOIRS. 

ductive  science  of  society  ever  reached,  and 
which  may  well  be  doubted  whether  it  ever 
could  reach.  Science  has  indeed  had  much  to 
say  of  late  years  of  development,  but  it  is  de- 
velopment proceeding  from  no  recognized  be- 
ginning and  tending  to  no  recognized  end, 
the  ceaseless  transformation  of  material  sub- 
stance. 

For  these  two  controlling  ideas  we  are  in- 
debted not  to  inductive  science,  but  to  Revela- 
tion. Revelation  first  taught  the  unity  of  the 
race,  and  in  its  doctrine  of  a  superintending 
Providence  first  taught  that,  beneath  the  ap- 
parent confusion  of  human  affairs,  a  divine 
eternal  plan  was  running  smoothly  on  towards 
final  accomplishment.  In  the  nature  of  things 
an  inductive  science  could  never  unfold  this 
plan  while  the  course  of  development  was  still 
in  progress.  Thus  the  Philosophy  of  History, 
inspired  by  religion,  is  made  wholly  indepen- 
dent of  the  Science  of  History. 

With  this  distinction  recognized,  it  may  be 
further  said  that  the  study  of  History,  pursued 
philosophically,  is  the  study  of  society;  not 
the  mere  loading  of  the  memory  with  dates 
and  names,  but  the  enlargement  of  the  under- 
standing in  the  recognition  of  general  princi- 
ples; not  the  investigation  of  isolated    facts, 


INTRODUCTORY  LECTURE.  211 

but  the  perception  of  connected  movement.  In 
this  view  institutions  are  obviously  much  more 
deserving-  of  study  than  ever,  and  aspects  of 
society  are  to  be  taken  into  account  rather 
than  details  of  battles  and  sieges. 

And  further,  when  the  nature  of  History  is 
thus  understood,  the  objections  to  the  study 
fall  at  once  to  the  ground.  Those  objections 
may  all  at  last  be  reduced  to  two. 

1st.  That  the  statements  of  History,  for  the 
most  part,  are  not  true. 

2d.  That  if  true,  they  are  not  worth  learn- 
ing. In  support  of  the  first,  the  many  and 
acknowledged  contradictions  of  History  are 
alleged;  and  in  support  of  the  second  it  is 
asked,  of  what  possible  importance  is  it  at  the 
present  day  to  know  what  was  cut  on  the 
Rosetta  Stone,  or  whether  Rome  was  governed 
in  the  beginning  by  kings  ? 

It  might  be  said,  indeed,  in  reply,  that  the 
same  questions  may  with  equal  propriety  be 
asked  respecting  a  large  portion  of  the  knowl- 
edge that  awakens  human  curiosity  and  stimu- 
lates human  inquiry.  It  might,  for  example, 
as  well  be  asked  what  use  there  is  in  know- 
ing what  fishes  inhabit  the  Amazon,  or  the 
distances  of  the  fixed  stars  ;  but  History  may 
appeal   to  other,    and   sounder   arguments  to 


212  MEMOIRS. 

attest  the  value  of  her  results.  These  results 
have  a  practical  bearing  on  human  duty  and 
welfare  that  no  natural  science,  however  far- 
reaching  and  sublime,  can  claim. 

We  may  grant  that  the  statements  of  History 
are,  in  many  cases,  shrouded  in  uncertainty  ; 
but  this  becomes  a  matter  of  comparatively 
slight  consequence,  when  we  remember  that 
the  great  value  of  History  is  in  its  broader 
aspects  and  in  its  general  truths.  Uncertainty 
in  specific  details  does  not  in  the  least  affect 
the  stability  of  these  conclusions.  We  may 
doubt  whether  there  ever  existed  such  a  man 
as  Romulus,  but  we  can  have  no  doubt  as  to 
the  growth  and  structure  of  the  Roman  con- 
stitution. The  account  of  Catiline  by  Sallust 
we  may  put  aside  as  a  party  pamphlet,  but 
we  cannot  question  that  terrible  political  pro- 
fligacy which  worked  at  last  the  ruin  of  the 
republic.  We  may  charitably  suspect  some 
details  preserved  respecting  the  private  life  of 
Charlemagne,  but  we  cannot  mistake  the  in- 
fluence of  the  feudal  system.  The  study  of 
long-established  and  widespread  institutions 
or  of  the  grand  results  of  historic  progress 
are  as  independent  of  any  questions  respecting 
specific  facts,  as  the  study  of  the  successive 
phases  of  Gothic  architecture  is  independent 


INTRODUCTORY  LECTURE.  213 

of  the  question  who  was  the  designer  of  the 
Cologne  Cathedral. 

Again,  we  may  grant  that  many  facts  of 
History  are  of  little  or  no  consequence,  and 
deserve  as  little  to  be  investigated  as  the 
questions  by  Tiberius  to  the  grammarians, 
what  song  the  sirens  sang,  or  what  dress 
Achilles  assumed  when  he  hid  himself  amongr 
the  women ;  but  this  does  not  at  all  lessen  the 
value  of  other  facts,  —  facts  which,  like  the 
facts  of  the  natural  world,  derive  their  value 
from  their  relation  to  principles.  A  circum- 
stance recorded  by  Thucydides  or  Tacitus  may, 
in  itself,  be  merely  a  curious  incident ;  but  it  at 
once  becomes  far  more  than  this  when  seen 
in  its  bearing  upon  some  truth  of  universal 
and  lasting  import,  or  upon  some  question 
that  society  is  now  seeking  anxiously  to  an- 
swer. No  one  can  read  the  writings  of  the 
founders  of  our  own  federal  government  with- 
out perceiving  how  carefully  they  studied  the 
structure  of  the  ancient  republics  ;  and  though 
the  problems  now  given  us  as  a  nation  to  solve 
are  in  some  respects  unlike  those  given  to  any 
former  age,  yet  who  would  say  that  the  terri- 
ble convulsion  that  grew  from  the  refusal  of 
the  Roman  senate  to  extend  the  franchise, 
may  not  have  a  lesson  which  we  cannot 
afford  to  neglect. 


214  MEMOIRS. 

If  now  the  question  be  asked,  what  is  the 
special  use  and  benefit  of  Historical  study  ?  I 
answer,  that  as  History  is  the  record  of  man's 
career,  not  as  an  individual,  but  as  a  social 
being,  so  the  study  of  History  is  his  best  disci- 
pline for  the  performance  of  his  social  duties. 
"  Histories,"  says  Bacon,  "  make  men  wise." 
It  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  study  of  History 
forms  the  best  preparation  for  the  judicious 
performance  of  those  duties  which  belong  to 
men  as  members  of  society,  and  which,  says 
Algernon  Sidney,  "  seem  so  far  to  concern  all 
mankind,  that  besides  the  influence  on  our 
future  life,  they  may  be  said  to  comprehend 
all  that  in  this  world  deserves  to  be  cared 
for." 

This  relation  of  the  study  of  History  to 
sound  political  training  gives  to  the  study  an 
unprecedented  worth  in  a  country  like  our 
own,  where  all  are  called  to  exercise  the  func- 
tions of  the  citizen,  and  where  any  may  aspire 
to  the  highest  spheres  of  public  service.  No 
young  man  can  be  considered  educated  who 
is  not  educated  for  these  duties.  Whatever 
may  be  the  special  calling  he  has  in  view, 
whatever  profession  he  means  to  enter,  or 
whatever  business  to  engage  in,  he  should 
never   neglect  to   fit  himself  to  those  larger 


INTRODUCTORY  LECTURE.  215 

duties  which  will  devolve  upon  him  as  a  citi- 
zen of  the  Republic. 

But  when  we  further  consider  the  vast 
influence  which  educated  young  men  have 
always  exerted,  and  always  must  exert,  in  a 
community  like  ours;  when  we  call  to  mind 
the  remark  of  one  of  the  most  sagacious 
thinkers  that  ever  lived,  "  that  the  knowledge 
of  the  speculative  principles  adopted  by  young 
men  is  the  surest  guide  to  political  prophecy," 
then  the  immense  practical  bearings  of  this 
study  become  still  more  obvious.  A  broad  His- 
torical training  is  the  best  possible  safeguard 
against  rank  political  theory.  While,  on  the 
one  hand,  the  teachings  of  History  inculcate  a 
lofty  faith  in  human  progress  and  in  human 
destiny,  still,  on  the  other  hand,  they  warn  us 
that  this  progress  is  slow  and  often  inter- 
rupted ;  that  it  is  purchased  with  great  sacri- 
fices and  with  bitter  suffering,  and  that  while 
it  cannot  be  delayed,  so  it  cannot  be  hastened, 
by  rash  counsel  or  by  ruinous  extremes. 
"  Thus,"  to  quote  the  excellent  advice  of  the 
Earl  of  Worcester,  commending  the  study  of 
History  to  Charles  II.,  then  Prince  of  Wales, 
"  you  shall  see  the  excellences  and  the  errors 
both  of  kings  and  subjects,  and  though  you 
are  young  in  years,  yet  living  by  your  reading 


216  MEMOIRS. 

in  all  these  times,  be  older  in  wisdom  and 
judgment  than  nature  can  afford  any  man  to 
be  without  this  help." 

It  only  remains  to  say  that  the  study  of 
History,  while  in  some  respects  the  most  fasci- 
nating of  studies,  is  in  some  respects  the  most 
difficult.  As  it  is  the  study  of  man,  it  re- 
quires the  knowledge  which  is  the  rarest  of 
all,  —  the  knowledge  of  human  nature.  We 
greatly  mistake  when  we  regard  History  as 
a  study  that  tasks  only  the  memory.  To  be 
pursued  with  success,  it  demands  a  ripe  devel- 
opment of  the  judgment  and  the  reasoning 
faculties.  The  imagination  also  enters  into 
it  as  an  essential  part.  There  is  scarcely  a 
department  of  human  science  from  which  it 
does  not  levy  its  contributions.1 

1  Then  follows  a  list  of  authorities  :  — 
Bossuet,  Vico,  Herder. 

Cousin,  Introduction  a  VHistoire  de  la  Philosophic 
Abbe"  de  Mably,  De  V Etude  de  VHistoire. 
Bolingbroke,  Letters  on  the  Study  and  Use  of  History. 
Arnold,  Lectures  on  Modern  History. 
Goldwin  Smith,  Lecture  on  Study  of  History. 
Comte,  Positive  Philosophy. 
Westminster  Review,  Oct.,  1842,  Vol.  38. 
J.  S.  Mill,  Logic,  Book  VI. 
Wm,  Adam,  Theories  of  History. 
Buckle,  History  of  Civilization. 

Kant,  Idea  of  Universal  History  in  a  Cosmopolitan  Point  of 
View.     Works,  vii.  317. 
Stephens,  Lecture  on  History  of  France. 


METHOD  OF   TEACHING.  217 

The  course  of  study  thus  introduced  was 
divided  into  two  parts  :  lectures  on  Mediaeval 
Institutions,  and  lectures  on  Modern  History. 
A  whole  week  was  given  to  each  lecture,  di- 
viding it  into  five  sections,  to  each  of  which 
an  hour  was  given,  and  on  Saturday  came  the 
summing  up  of  the  whole,  and  questions  in 
review.  A  written  analysis  of  a  chapter  of 
Guizot  was  also  required  each  week.  Beside 
the  regular  dictation,  which  occupied  a  few 
pages  each  day,  many  of  the  students  took 
full  notes,  which  give  the  feeling  of  the  class- 
room, and  explain  the  enjoyment  they  had  in 
the  lectures.  From  the  lecture-book  of  Mr. 
Rowland  G.  Hazard  2d,  which  received  Mr. 
Diman's  commendation  at  the  end  of  the  year 
as  being  unusually  full  and  accurate,  these 
characteristic  remarks  are  taken  :  — 

"  One  would  suppose  from  reading  Hegel's 
lectures  that  the  course  of  History  ended  when 
he  stopped  lecturing  in  1820.  Now  it  is  pos- 
sible that  History  may  go  on."     The  course 

After  these  comes  a  page  to  be  dictated  to  the  students. 

The  branches  of  knowledge  which  are  especially  con- 
nected with  History,  and  on  which  it  depends,  are  :  1.  Chro- 
nology ;  2.   Geography,  (a)  Physical,  (b)  Historical. 

And  then  we  proceed  to  its  higher  problems  :  3.  Political 
Economy  ;  4.  Jurisprudence;  5.  Moral  Philosophy. 

Books  recommended  :  Student's  Gibbon,  White's  Eighteen 
Christian  Centuries. 


218  MEMOIRS. 

is  thus  defined :  "  By  Mediaeval  History  is 
meant  in  general  the  period  from  the  fall  of 
the  Western  to  the  fall  of  the  Eastern  empire, 
from  476  to  1453.  But  all  chronological 
divisions  are  imperfect,  since  the  distinction 
between  one  period  and  another  is  not  chrono- 
logical, but  must  be  sought  in  the  underlying 
ideas  which  shape  institutions  and  events. 
Dates  are  merely  like  pegs  to  hang  our  hats 
on,  —  not  essential." 

The  lectures  were  on  the  Roman  element, 
the  Christian  element,  the  Germanic  element ; 
and  so  on  to  the  rise  of  Feudalism,  the  Cru- 
sades,—  the  great  achievement  of  Feudalism, 
—  the  rise  of  the  Franks,  the  Church  and  the 
Empire,  to  the  dawn  of  the  Renaissance  and 
the  fall  of  Constantinople.  The  Saturday 
questions,  for  which  written  answers  were  re- 
quired, were  always  constructed  to  bring  out 
the  student's  conception  of  the  whole  subject, 
never  specific  questions,  to  be  answered  by  a 
date  or  a  fact.  Early  in  the  course  occur 
these,  which  are  good  examples  of  the  kind 
of  comprehension  required  :  — 

1.  Define  the  limits  of  the  empire  under 
the  Antonines. 

2.  Explain  civil  administration  under  Con- 
stantine. 


LECTURES  OF  THE  FIRST  TERM.    219 

3.  State  the  successive  steps  of  the  division 
of  the  empire  into  Eastern  and  Western. 

In  the  lecture  on  Feudalism  we  find,  "  The 
duel  was  a  restraint  upon  indiscriminate  slash- 
ing, and  was  really  the  first  step  in  civilization. 
Slavery  was  also  a  step  in  advance,  since  it 
took  the  place  of  butchery." 

In  the  period  of  the  Renaissance  Mr.  Di- 
man  always  took  special  interest,  and  some  of 
his  most  attractive  lectures  were  delivered  upon 
it.  "  All  true  architecture,"  he  says,  "  is  the 
expression  of  feeling,  or  the  embodiment  of 
thought.  The  oppressive  gloom  of  the  Egyp- 
tian sanctuary,  the  graceful  symmetry  of  the 
Grecian  temple,  the  endless  variety  of  the 
Mediaeval  Miinster,  expressed  in  material 
forms  the  despair,  the  contentment,  the  aspi- 
ration of  different  races.  Regarded  in  this 
light,  Mediaeval  architecture  is  the  most  trust- 
worthy record  of  the  spiritual  life  of  the  Mid- 
dle Age."  The  Renaissance  in  Italy  is  dwelt 
upon,  with  lectures  full  of  apt  characterization 
of  the  great  artists.  Michael  Angelo  is  called 
the  "  water-shed  of  architecture."  "  Leonardo 
marks  the  highest  pitch  of  art.  He  has  the 
greatest  depth  of  expression,  and  the  most 
technical  training.  If  we  look  back,  training 
runs  out,  and  ideals  run  up." 


220  MEMOIRS. 

Thomas  a,  Kempis,  Reuchlin,  Erasmus,  and 
Ximenes  were  considered  as  preparing  the 
way  for  the  Reformation,  and  the  half-year 
ended  with  the  examinations  which  Mr.  Di- 
man  says  were  "  regarded  as  severe."  Severe 
they  were,  because  no  "  cramming  "  was  of 
avail ;  the  student  had  to  have  some  real  com- 
prehension of  the  subject.1 

After  the  mid-winter  recess,  lectures  on 
Modern  History  were  begun. 

"  In  passing  from  Mediaeval  to  Modern 
History,  we  pass  not  simply  to  a  new  period, 
but  to  new  phenomena,  to  more  complex  in- 
terests, to  more  varied  religious  and  political 
antagonisms.  The  revival  of  letters  marked 
a  revolution  in  thought  from  the  religious  to 
the  secular  spirit.  The  economic  revolution 
came  along  with  this,  and  the  geographical 
discoveries  followed,  which  changed  the  moral 
notions  of  Europe." 

1  The  following  half-year  examination  has  been  selected 
from  several  examination  papers  as  a  fair  example  :  — 

1.  What  essential  service  has  been  rendered  History  by 
the  scientific  method  ? 

2.  What  were  the  immediate  sources  of  Feudalism  ? 

3.  What  was  the  real  service  rendered  European  civiliza- 
tion by  Charlemagne  ? 

4.  How  did  the  Crusades  affect  the  servile  classes  ? 

5.  How  did  the  Renaissance  contrast  with  Mediseval  cul- 
ture ? 


LECTURES  OF  THE  SECOND  TERM.     221 

The  lectures  on  the  Reformation,  the  Wars 
of  Religion,  Absolute  Monarchy  in  France, 
the  European  Colonial  System,  the  Balance  of 
Power,  and  Modern  Political  Theory,  it  is  not 
the  place  to  follow  here.  Their  very  titles 
give  an  idea  of  the  wide  and  comprehensive 
survey  of  European  affairs  to  which  Mr.  Di- 
man  led  his  students.  The  "  struggle  after 
unity  "  in  his  religious  convictions  was  also  a 
forming  force  in  his  intellectual  life  ;  and  his 
philosophic  grasp  of  the  subjects  he  treated 
made  them  clear  to  his  students. 

The  lectures  were  relieved  with  constant 
bright  descriptive  touches.  Of  Alexander  Bor- 
gia he  says  :  "  Making  a  liberal  allowance  in 
his  favor,  he  would  still  hold  an  eminent  posi- 
tion among  the  sinners  of  any  age."  And  of 
Philip  of  Spain  :  "  Mr.  Motley,  though  a  very 
sprightly  and  brilliant  writer,  is  not  always 
to  be  implicitly  accepted.  As,  for  example,  he 
would  have  us  believe  Philip  II.  to  be  almost 
an  idiot  who  did  nothing  but  correct  the 
spelling  of  despatches.  Philip  was,  however, 
a  very  remarkable  man,  with  great  powers  of 
detail."  Again  we  find  :  "  The  real  founder 
of  Prussia  was  Frederick  William  I.,  who  was 
short,  thick-set,  and  dumpy.  He  had  veracity, 
chastity,  and  honesty,  which  are  enough  to 


222  MEMOIRS. 

distinguish  any  man  in  the  eighteenth   cen- 
tury." 

After  the  spring  recess  about  a  fortnight 
was  usually  given  to  daily  lectures  on  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  tracing  the 
growth  of  the  colonies,  and  their  stages  of 
development,  and  final  separation  from  the 
Mother-country.  The  Constitution  was  fully 
expounded,  and  Mr.  Diman's  last  word  was  like 
his  first,  —  one  of  exhortation  to  the  students 
before  him.  "  The  stability  of  our  govern- 
ment depends  on  the  correspondence  of  the 
Constitution  with  the  convictions  of  the  peo- 
ple. Hence  the  peculiar  responsibility  resting 
on  the  class  of  educated  men,  in  a  country 
like  ours,  by  whom  public  opinion  is  shaped." 

Being  prepared  by  the  study  of  History,  the 
students  devoted  their  last  month  in  college 
under  Mr.  Diman  to  International  Law.  On 
this  he  delivered  lectures  founded  upon  Presi- 
dent Woolsey's  book.  To  these  lectures  ref- 
erence will  be  found  in  several  of  the  letters. 
For  clear  analysis  and  beauty  of  arrangement, 
they  equal  any  he  ever  delivered,  while  want- 
ing, in  the  nature  of  the  case,  in  the  pictur- 
esque description  of  the  more  purely  historical 
lectures. 

Of  Mr.  Diman's  manner  in  the  class-room, 
Mr.  Rowland  G.  Hazard,  2d,  writes  :  — 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  THE  CLASS-ROOM.     223 

"To  the  average  student  who  followed  Pro- 
fessor  Diman  out  of  chapel  into  that  low  square 
room  in  University  Hall,  where  the  history  lec- 
tures were  given,  there  came  a  sinking  of  the 
heart,  as  he  reflected  that  he  might  be  the 
first  man  up. 

"  i  The  Professor '  was  evident  in  the  very 
manner  of  the  man,  as  he  swung  into  the 
room  with  that  one-sided  walk,  laid  aside 
coat  and  hat  with  an  air  of  abstraction,  and 
with  nothing  but  his  class-book  in  his  hand, 
took  his  chair  upon  the  little  platform.  He 
used  eye-glasses,  perhaps  more  as  an  occupa- 
tion for  his  left  hand  than  an  aid  to  vision. 
As  he  adjusted  them  to  read  the  roll-call,  his 
manner  was  precise  and  formal,  perhaps  even 
a  little  stiff,  and  he  read  the  names  of  the  men 
rapidly,  and  with  but  one  repetition  of  the 
name  if  a  man  were  absent.  Then  very  de- 
liberately scanning  the  list,  he  selected  a  name 
and  called  upon  the  owner  of  it  to  give  the 
points  of  the  previous  day's  lecture.  Professor 
Diman  seemed  to  put  all  his  intelligence  at 
work  to  understand  the  foggiest  recitation 
from  the  dullest  one  of  us,  provided  it  gave 
him  the  idea  of  any  real  effort  on  the  student's 
part.  He  was  sometimes  impatient  at  bun- 
gling attempts,  but  rarely   showed  it  by  any 


224  MEMOIRS. 

prompting.  No  one  on  the  Faculty,  we  all 
felt,  was  so  quick  to  detect  the  man  who,  not 
having  studied  the  subject,  was  talking  against 
time  ;  and  his  quiet '  that  will  do,  sir,  —  next,' 
on  such  occasions  generally  made  such  an  im- 
pression as  to  effectually  stir  up  that  man  for 
a  while.  But  we  used  to  think  that  he  was 
sometimes  deceived  by  our  '  parrots,'  —  men 
who  would  reel  off  page  after  page  verbatim 
as  the  Professor  himself  had  said  it.  He  used 
to  tell  us  that  he  did  not  wish  us  to  use  his 
words,  and  preferred  us  to  take  our  own,  so 
that  when  a  '  parrot '  was  well  received  we 
used  to  wonder  a  little.  But  it  had  to  be  a 
bright  parrot,  for  the  cross-fire  of  questions 
which  always  followed  the  recitation  would 
have  made  it  impossible  for  men  without  knowl- 
edge to  have  answered.  The  explanation  of 
the  high  favor  in  which  some  of  our  i  rote  ' 
men  stood  lay,  perhaps,  in  Professor  Diman's 
not  knowing  exactly  his  own  phrases.  This 
might  easily  have  been  so  ;  for  he  never,  so  far 
as  I  can  remember,  dictated  from  fully  written 
notes,  but  always  used  small  sheets  of  note 
paper,  which  he  had  in  his  pocket,  until  he 
wished  to  use  them,  and  which  he  put  away 
again  the  moment  he  was  done.  I  never 
remember  to  have  caught  more  than  a  glimpse 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  THE  CLASS-ROOM.     225 

of  these  note-sheets,  but  always  supposed  they 
contained  merely  the  analysis  of  the  subject 
in  hand.  He  was  always  extremely  familiar 
with  his  subject.  I  have  known  him  to  go 
through  a  very  complicated  division  of  a  topic 
into  A,  B,  and  C,  with  1,  2,  3,  4,  and  5  under 
each  letter,  without  so  much  as  taking  the 
analysis  from  his  pocket ;  and  this  with  such 
perfect  ease  and  fluency,  that  it  was  an  inspi- 
ration to  do  the  same  thing;.  How  often  have 
I  been  disgusted  with  myself  for  failing  to 
accomplish  such  a  feat  after  once  re-reading 
my  notes  !  He  did  it  so  easily,  so  gracefully, 
why  could  not  I  ? 

"  As  to  the  manner  of  his  lecture  upon 
which  we  were  expected  to  take  either  verbatim 
notes  or  such  as  should  enable  us  to  remember 
every  point  made,  it  was  almost  too  rapid  to 
allow  of  writing  out  fully,  and  a  common  com- 
plaint used  to  be  that  we  had  all  missed  some 
point  of  minor  interest,  which  each  one  had  re- 
lied on  his  neighbor  taking  down.  The  Ian- 
guage  used  was  always  racy  and  delightful, 
full  of  life,  and  sometimes  tinged  with  sarcasm. 
His  fund  of  illustrative  anecdote  was  appar- 
ently inexhaustible,  and,  as  we  learned  by 
comparing  notes  with  our  predecessors,  varied 
from  year  to  year,  as  indeed  the  lectures  did. 


226  MEMOIRS. 

I  never  thought  his  appreciation  of  the  humor- 
ous very  keen,  but  he  certainly  enjoyed  the 
ludicrous  intensely.  I  have  heard  him  tell  of 
an  examination  in  the  Constitutional  History  of 
the  United  States,  on  which  he  always  lectured 
at  the  close  of  Senior  year.  It  was  early  in 
the  subject,  and  a  few  recitations  had  been 
made  on  the  condition  of  the  States,  and  their 
readiness  for  the  movement  which  culminated 
in  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  when  a 
man  was  called  up  who  had  been  a  blunderer 
always,  but  for  whose  zeal  and  willingness  to 
work  Professor  Diman  had  a  real  respect. 
After  a  number  of  questions,  all  of  which  re- 
mained unanswered,  had  been  put,  willing  to 
favor  the  poor  fellow  as  much  as  possible,  and 
intending  to  ask  at  least  one  question  which 
the  man  must  be  able  to  answer,  Professor  Di- 
man asked,  (  Under  what  were  the  colonies 
living  previous  to  the  adoption  of  the  Con- 
stitution ? '  the  obvious  answer  being,  '  Under 
King  George.'  But  when  the  answer  came, 
'  Before  the  Constitution  ?  Why,  I  suppose 
they  were  living  under  the  Preamble,  sir,' 
even  the  gravity  of  the  Professor  was  upset. 

"  Always  fair,  and  ready  to  admit  an  error, 
if  he  had  made  one,  which  happened  almost 
never,    he   yet    had  the    reputation    amongst 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  THE  CLASS-ROOM.     227 

many  of  his  students  of  being  very  severe ; 
they  said  he  was  a  l  hard  man,'  and  by  some 
he  was  even  disliked.  His  abhorrence  of  any- 
thin  g  vulgar  in  a  man  was  so  strong  as  to  in 
great  measure  account  for  this.  As  I  think 
over  the  men  who  did  not  like  him,  I  find 
they  must  all  have  offended  him  in  this  way. 
But  even  those  who  did  not  like  him,  who 
never  got  over  the  first  impression  of  coldness 
and  relentlessness  which  his  impartiality  some- 
times produced,  came  to  admit  his  power,  and 
to  feel  the  stimulating  effects  of  his  enthu- 
siasm.  It  was  under  his  inspiring  guidance 
that  the  boys  became  men,  and  awakened  to  a 
sense  of  the  wideness  of  study,  and  the  neces- 
sity of  concentrating  every  energy  upon  the 
work  in  hand,  in  order  to  make  any  worthy 
progress.  This  awakening  faculty,  the  power 
to  create  in  the  immature  nature  a  real  desire 
for  mental  gain,  an  actual  thirst  for  knowl- 
edge, Professor  Diman  certainly  possessed  to 
a  remarkable  degree.  We  all  felt  his  influ- 
ence  strongly ;  many  of  us  still  feel  it,  and 
must  be  influenced  by  it  as  long  as  life  lasts." 


CHAPTER  XI. 

1869-1871.     aet.  38-40. 

Letter  to  President  Angell.  —  Amherst  Oration.  — Preach- 
ing. —  Letter  to  Miss  Emerson.  —  Home  Life.  —  Thanks- 
giving. —  Letters  to  President  Angell.  —  Offers  of  a  Pro- 
fessorship in  Harvard  University.  —  Letters  to  President 
Eliot.  —  Offer  declined.  —  Lecture.  —  Harvard  again.  — 
Degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity.  —  Offer  from  Wisconsin  of 
the  Presidency  of  the  State  University.  —  School  Board. 
—  A  Deer  Hunt  on  the  Raquette. 

The  year  1869  was  the  first  that  Mr.  Di- 
man  delivered  an  oration  at  another  college 
than  Brown.  The  Amherst  oration  referred 
to  in  the  following  letter  was  on  "  The 
Method  of  Academic  Culture,"  before  the 
Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society  of  Amherst  College, 
at  its  meeting  July  6, 1869.1 

TO    PRESIDENT    ANGELL. 

Providence,  May  15,  1869. 
Our  college  term  has  gone  through  pleas- 
antly, with  an  unusual  amount  of  good,  honest 
work.     I  am  just  now  teaching  Colonial  His- 
tory, which  I  endeavor  to  reduce  to  its  con- 

1  Orations  and  Essays. 


PREACHING.  229 

stituent  principles,  a  la  Guizot.  It  is  wonder- 
ful how  readily  the  bright  minds  take  to  the 
study,  when  they  come  to  see  that  it  concerns 
something  more  than  mere  memory.  I  have 
been  busy  about  various  matters,  and  so  have 
not  begun  my  oration  for  Amherst  yet.  I 
will  hold  myself  in  readiness  for  Burlington, 
but  fear  that  I  shall  not  be  able  to  prepare 
fresh  matter.  This  I  very  much  regret,  not 
less  on  my  own  account  than  yours. 

I  have  been  preaching  a  good  deal  this 
spring  ;  in  fact,  have  not  passed  a  Sunday  in 
Providence  since  Easter.  Most  of  the  time  I 
have  supplied  Dr.  Bushnell's  church,  in  Hart- 
ford, but  to-morrow  go  to  Boston.  So  you 
see  the  "  Orthodox  "  continue  to  "  get  good," 
as  you  say,  out  of  me. 

At  this  time  Dr.  Bushnell  had  long  ceased 
to  preach,  and  the  pulpit  of  the  North  Church 
in  Hartford  was  vacant.  For  eight  Sundays, 
during  April,  May,  and  June,  Mr.  Diman 
supplied  it.  "  The  committee  always  thought," 
writes  Dr.  Burton,  the  present  pastor,  "  they 
had  done  one  of  the  most  acceptable  things  to 
the  congregation  when  they  had  secured  Mr. 
Diman.  I  frequently  heard  it  remarked  upon, 
that  when  he  stood  in  the  desk  the  place  was 
thoroughly  filled." 


230  MEMOIRS. 

TO    MISS   TIRZAH    EMERSON. 

Providence,  July  28,  1S69. 

How  delighted  I  was  to  get  your  letter,  and 
such  a  charming  account,  too,  it  gave  me  of 
your  travels.  Much  of  it  I  had  passed  over, 
and  I  followed  you  in  fancy  through  the  Tyrol, 
the  Salz-Kammergut,  to  Linz  and  Vienna.  It 
makes  me  long  for  the  time  you  will  be  with 
us  again,  and  when,  some  winter  evening,  by 
a  bright  wood-fire,  we  may  make  the  journey 
together.  Then,  too,  we  will  discuss  the 
deeper  questions  of  the  soul,  to  which  you  ad- 
vert, as  I  passed  through  much  the  same  ex- 
perience during  the  two  years  I  spent  in  Eu- 
rope. I  imagine  it  is  an  experience  through 
which  all  young  persons  pass,  whose  spiritual 
nature  is  roused  to  much  activity. 

You  ask  what  we  have  been  doing:  this  long- 
time.  We  have  been  greatly  blessed  with 
health,  and  you  would  hardly  know  the  chil- 
dren, they  have  grown  so.  M.  came  in  from 
the  garden  just  as  I  began  to  write,  and  sends 
her  love  to  you.  She  has  now  been  to  school 
long  enough  to  become  quite  proficient,  and 
takes  great  delight  in  reading  her  little  mag- 
azine. Master  J.,  who  has  thus  far  pursued 
his  studies  with  his  mamma,  displays  as  yet 


HOME  LIFE.  231 

no  particular  love  of  letters,  but  we  hope  for 
better  things  by  and  by.  Their  lives  have 
been  very  happy,  and  it  really  makes  one  bet- 
ter to  hear  every  hour  their  merry  laughter, 
and  watch  them  trudging  about  the  garden. 
They  have  a  favorite  visitor  in  an  enormous 
do2\  belongfino-  to  a  neighbor,  who  comes 
regularly  to  see  them  every  day. 

When  your  letter  came,  I  was  just  begin- 
ning to  write  a  Phi  Beta  Kappa  oration,  which 
I  had  engaged  to  deliver  at  Amherst  College. 
.  .  .  Last  week  I  went  to  Andover  and  re- 
peated my  address,  and  next  week  do  the 
same  at  Burlington  ;  so  you  see  my  time  this 
summer  is  much  taken  up  with  "  orating." 
My  taste  does  not,  however,  incline  strongly 
that  way.  To  me  it  is  far  pleasanter  to  sit  by 
my  own  fireside  and  chat  with  a  dear  friend. 

I  have  been  preaching  constantly  this  spring 
and  summer,  most  of  the  time  in  Hartford, 
and  in  the  new  Central  Church  in  Boston. 
The  latter  is  very  splendid,  much  the  most  so 
of  any  church  that  has  been  built  in  New 
England ;  but  unfortunately  it  leaves  the  So- 
ciety burdened  with  a  huge  debt.  Not  the 
least  charm  of  those  glorious  old  cathedrals, 
which  you  tell  me  you  enjoy  so  much,  is  the 
fact  that  they  stand  open  to  rich  and  poor 


232  MEMOIRS. 

alike.  They  were,  in  fact,  the  most  demo- 
cratic institutions  of  the  Middle  Age.  I  love 
to  see  handsome  churches;  the  temples  in 
which  we  worship  God  should  not  be  inferior 
to  our  own  dwellings,  but  they  should  be  built 
as  free-will  offerings,  and  not  paid  for  by  the 
sale  of  pews.  How  much  I  enjoyed  those  old 
cathedrals,  especially  that  of  Vienna,  and  some 
of  the  quaint,  irregular  ones  on  the  Rhine  ! 

This  charming  picture  of  Mr.  Diman's  home 
life  is  completed  by  his  Thanksgiving  reflec- 
tions for  the  same  year,  in  the  "  Providence 
Journal"  :  — 

"  Next  to  that  Faith  without  which  all 
earthly  blessings  are  but  curses  in  disguise, 
there  is  nothing  for  which  any  of  us  should 
be  so  grateful  as  a  happy  home.  In  the  pure 
affections  that  centre  here  is  the  spring  of 
whatever  is  most  ennobling  in  life.  What- 
ever disasters  and  disappointments  may  have 
overtaken  us,  if  they  have  not  invaded  this 
charmed  circle,  we  may  gather  with  cheerful 
hearts  about  our  tables.  For  all  burdens  in 
life  may  be  bravely  borne,  if  no  sorrow  or 
shame  has  crossed  the  threshold.  When  the 
All-merciful  and  loving  Father  ordained  that 


MODERN  SOCIETY  AND  DOMESTIC  LIFE.      233 

his  children  should  dwell  in  families,  he  placed 
within  their  reach  sources  of  happiness  and 
strength  that  from  age  to  age  have  been  as 
springs  of  water  in  a  dry  and  thirsty  land. 
For  all  this  let  us  devoutly  bless  His  holy 
name  to-day. 

"  Perhaps  as  time  goes  on  we  are  getting 
to  be  a  little  old-fashioned  in  our  notions,  and 
do  not  keep  pace  with  the  social  and  politi- 
cal improvements  that  are  so  rife  ;  but  some- 
times in  our  moods  of  sober  reflection  we  are 
led  to  ask  ourselves  the  question,  whether  the 
aggregate  of  human  happiness  about  us  is  in- 
creased at  all  in  the  ratio  of  all  this  bustle  and 
stir  that  goes  under  the  name  of  modern  pro- 
gress. Are  the  essential  sources  of  our  high- 
est  welfare  multiplied  with  the  multiplied  in- 
ventions and  discoveries  of  this  anxious  and 
unquiet  age  ?  In  one  important  particular,  at 
least,  it  may  be  doubted  whether  we  have  ad- 
vanced upon  the  fathers.  When  we  consider 
some  of  the  more  salient  tendencies  of  modern 
society  in  relation  to  domestic  life,  and,  for 
example,  the  lessened  regard  for  the  sanctity 
of  the  marriage  tie,  the  lack  of  interest  in  the 
quiet  enjoyments  of  home,  the  increasing  love 
of  excitement  and  of  social  dissipations  that 
tend    to    render    domestic    cares    a    drudge, 


234  MEMOIRS. 

we  may  seriously  ask  ourselves  the  question, 
•whether  in  one  important  respect,  at  least, 
we  are  improving1  upon  tke  methods  of  those 
who  kept  their  Thanksgivings  before  the  age 
of  the  steam-engine  and  the  telegraph. 

"  We  have  no  desire  to  make  ourselves  ob- 
noxious to  the  charge  of  unreasonably  lauding 
the  things  of  the  past.  We  are  fully  alive  to 
the  failings  of  our  forefathers,  and  our  col- 
umns bear  abundant  witness  to  the  fact  that 
we  are  never  indisposed  to  subject  them  to 
reasonable  criticism  :  but  when  we  recall  some 
of  the  pictures  that  have  been  preserved  of 
the  home-life  of  the  Puritans,  these  well-or- 
dered households,  a  little  austere  and  prim, 
perhaps,  in  their  outward  aspect,  but  so  per- 
vaded with  lofty  sense  of  duty,  where  was  so 
much  of  reverence  for  age,  such  blending  of 
strict  parental  authority  with  returns  of  filial 
affection ;  when,  above  all,  the  precepts  of  re- 
ligion were  imbibed  with  the  mother's  milk, 
and  the  round  of  daily  cares  was  perfumed 
with  the  fragrance  of  the  morning  and  even- 
ing  sacrifice,  —  we  are  tempted  to  think  that 
we  have,  after  all,  but  a  poor  substitute  fur- 
nished in  much  for  which  we  pay  a  high  price, 
under  the  guise  of  modern  accomplishments 
and  modern  improvements."  .  .  . 


THE  HOLLIS  PROFESSORSHIP.  235 

Mr.  Dinian  was  offered  the  presidency  of 
the  College  of  the  City  of  New  York,  this 
year  (1869),  and  the  first  efforts  were  made  to 
induce  him  to  go  to  Cambridge.  The  letters 
to  President  Angell  give  a  full  account  of  the 
various  offers  that  were  made  him. 

TO    PRESIDENT    ANGELL. 

Providence,  September  8,  1869. 

I  received  this  week,  somewhat  to  my  sur- 
prise, a  formal  offer  of  the  Hollis  Professor- 
ship at  Cambridge.  The  plan  is,  that  I  hold 
my  present  place,  going  to  Cambridge  one  day 
in  the  week,  to  lecture ;  the  lectures  being 
given  in  the  Divinity  School. 

It  is  not,  as  I  understand,  in  the  least  de- 
signed that  I  become  in  any  way  identified 
with  Unitarians,  the  object  of  the  corporation 
being  to  convert  the  Divinity  School  into 
something  like  the  Theological  Faculty  of  a 
German  University,  having  no  connection 
with  any  sect. 

Now,  let  me  know  what  you  think  of  the 
plan.  Is  it  possible  thus  to  be  connected 
with  two  institutions,  for  I  should  become  a 
regular  professor  at  Harvard  holding  the  old- 
est foundation,  and  would  my  position  in  any 
way  be  compromised  ? 


236  MEMOIRS. 

ions1  September  11. 

I  go  to  Cambridge  on  Friday  to  confer  with 
President  Eliot. 

Providence,  December  7,  1869. 
You  wtre  quite  right  in  your  conjecture 
that  the  Cambridge  matter  would  not  rest. 
Soon  after  \he  first  arrangement  fell  through, 
I  received  another  offer,  which  I  have  now 
under  consideration,  to  go  to  Cambridge  as 
full  resident  professor,  with  a  salary  of  $4,000. 
My  title  would  be  Hollis  Professor,  but  my 
duties  about  what  I  chose  to  make  them. 
Eliot  urges  me  very  strongly  to  come,  on 
grounds  of  public  duty,  "  to  aid  in  building 
up  a  veritable  University."  I  was  in  Cam- 
bridge last  week  to  look  into  things,  and  re- 
ceived a  very  cordial  greeting.  There  are 
many  things  to  be  considered  beside  the  mere 
academic  question,  and  my  mind  as  yet  is 
far  from  made  up.  Let  me  hear  what  you 
11^'jQk  about  it. 
and 

with  auary  9,  1870,  Mr.  Diman  wrote  to 
ing  silent  Eliot :  "  The  scruples  that  I  have 
we  Inspecting  my  own  fitness  to  perform  the 
mshed  m  ;-vne(J  the  Hollis  Professorship  are 
under  the  guise  l^  I  pledge  myself  to  accept 
and  modern  improveii;he  corporation  see  fit  to 


THE  HOLLIS  PROFESSORSHIP.  237 

elect  me  to  it."  This  was  written  on  Sunday, 
the  ninth.  Before  any  action  could  be  taken 
in  regard  to  the  matter  Mr.  Diman  sought 
an  interview  with  President  Eliot,  and  with- 
drew his  acceptance.  Of  this  interview  he 
writes  :  — 

TO    PRESIDENT    ANGELL. 

Providence,  January  14,  1870. 

I  went  to   Cambridge   on  Tuesday,  failed 
to  see  Eliot,  so  went  again  yesterday.     He  re- 
ceived me  with  the  utmost  kindness,  and  was 
disposed  to  enter  into  a  full  discussion  of  the 
affair.      I    assured    him    that  my  feeling  of 
doubt  was  so  strong  that  I  should  not  feel 
justified   in  allowing  the  matter  to  proceed. 
He  seemed  disappointed,  but  was  exceedingly 
kind  about  it,  evidently  thinking  that  I  was 
suffering  from  temporary  reaction.     I  urged 
him  to  drop  the  thing  altogether,  but  this  he 
would  not  consent  to  do.     He,  however,  stion 
that  he  should  proceed  no  further  at  pre? 
otherwise  I  should  have  been  elected  to>f  the 
He  said  I  ought  to  look  at  it  simply  ijiected 
light  of  duty,  and  that  I  assumed  a  grannie  a 
sponsibility  if  I  declined.     So  tb«  -— g  the  old- 
but  I  feel  immense  relief,     ^J  position  in  any 


238  MEMOIRS. 

TO    PRESIDENT    ELIOT. 

Providence,  January  31,  1870. 

I  have  been  very  deeply  impressed  with  the 
earnestness  with  which  you  urge  my  coming  to 
Cambridge,  and  have  given  the  proposition  in 
your  last  letter  a  most  serious  consideration. 
It  is  necessary  for  me  to  say  that  I  fully  ap- 
preciate the  honor  of  the  position,  and  that  I 
feel  the  liveliest  interest  in  the  attempt  to  ele- 
vate education,  in  which  Harvard  College  is 
taking  the  lead.  But  I  am  nevertheless  far 
from  being  satisfied  that  my  own  usefulness 
would  be  enough  increased  by  the  change  to 
justify  relinquishing  my  present  position.  I 
am  obliged,  therefore,  to  decline  the  offer 
which  you  have  made  me. 

TO  PRESIDENT  ANGELL. 

Providence,  March  28,  1870. 
I  have  been  very  long  in  writing,  but  have 
had  many  trials.  First,  all  my  children  have 
had  the  whooping-cough,  the  two  eldest  very 
severely,  so  that  for  a  fortnight  I  got  no  good 
sleep,  and,  second,  in  the  brief  intervals  of 
their  terrific  noise,  I  have  had  a  lecture 1  to 
prepare  for  the  course  on  "  Christianity  and 

1  The  Historical  Basis  of  Belief. 


CAMBRIDGE  AGAIN.  239 

Skepticism,"  given  in  Boston.  As  I  under- 
took to  prove  to  a  church  full  of  Congrega- 
tional ministers  that  the  only  true  basis  of  belief 
was  that  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  a  little 
more  care  than  usual  was  needed  in  the  prep- 
aration of  the  paper.  However,  I  got  through 
without  bodily  harm.  The  lecture  will  be 
published  at  once,  and  I  will  send  you  a  copy. 

Have  you  heard  how  Cambridge  stands? 
Soon  after  giving  up  the  Hollis  Professorship, 
I  received  from  Mr.  Eliot  a  wholly  new  offer 
of  a  historical  professorship  in  the  college. 
I  had  trifled  so  long  with  the  first,  that  I  de- 
clined this  with  hardly  any  consideration. 
Soon  after  I  received  a  very  kind  note,  asking 
for  a  personal  interview ;  so  I  went  to  Cam- 
bridge, and  we  talked  it  over  together.  But 
after  returning  home,  I  wrote  again  that  there 
was  no  prospect  of  a  change  in  my  feeling. 
I  have  been  treated  with  so  much  kindness 
that  my  conscience  smites  me  for  not  going, 
but  somehow  the  change  from  here  to  Cam- 
bridge  does  not  on  the  whole  allure  me. 
Perhaps  we  shall  both  feel  that  we  have  made 
mistakes  —  who  can  tell  ?  l 

We  are  lame  at  college,  as  Mr.  Chace  has 

1  "  Five  or  six  years  later  I  made  another  effort  to  get  Mr. 
Diman   to  Cambridge  as  Professor  of  History,"  President 


240  MEMOIRS. 

broken  his  arm.  My  class  has  been  doing 
finely.  Have  yon  seen  Blunt's  "  History  of  the 
English  Reformation  "  ?  He  gives  a  view  the 
reverse  of  Fronde,  making  very  much  of  Wol- 
sey,  and  little  of  Henry.  Bunsen's  last  volume, 
"  God  in  History,"  I  have  also  found  sugges- 
tive. 

At  Commencement,  1870,  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Divinity  was  conferred  upon  Mr. 
Diman  by  his  own  college.  In  a  speech  at 
the  dinner  following  the  academic  services  of 
the  morning,  Mr.  Diman  said  :  — 

Mr.  President :  I  feel  that  the  very  best 
acknowledgment  that  I  can  make  for  the  honor 
which  your  too  partial  kindness  has  conferred 
upon  me  to-day,  is  to  endeavor  myself,  so  long 
as  I  shall  have  the  honor  to  hold  official  posi- 
tion here,  to  come  as  near  as  I  can  to  the  high 
standard  that  has  already  been  set.  My  own 
experience  induces  me  more  and  more  to  respect 
the  system  of  training  and  the  general  method 
of  culture  which  has  prevailed  here  for  years 
which  has,  as  you  are  well  aware,  some  distinc- 
tive  features.     And    I   believe  that  with   all 

Eliot  writes.  "  That  time  the  health  of  his  rnother-in-lawj 
and  his  own  age,  seemed  to  be  his  reasons  for  not  entertain- 
ing the  suggestion.  He  said,  I  remember,  that  a  man  of  fifty 
was  too  old  to  transplant." 


DEGREE   OF  DOCTOR    OF  DIVINITY.     241 

that  we  propose  to  do  for  the  general  extern- 
sion  of  the  University,  still  the  true  work,  and 
the  hest  work  for  this  college,  and  for  any  sim- 
ilar institution,  is  to  work  within,  and  to  im- 
prove the  courses  that  we  already  have.  I  be- 
lieve that  in  a  high  standard  of  instruction,  in 
raising  constantly  the  requirements  of  admis- 
sion and  of  graduation,  in  carrying  up  from 
year  to  year  our  own  interior  standard,  we 
are  doing1  the  truest  work.  And  I  need  not 
say  that  that  work,  in  the  main,  devolves 
upon  yourself  and  upon  your  colleagues  of  the 
Faculty.  I  believe  that  the  question  as  to  the 
number  of  students  is  a  subordinate  question. 
The  true  question  is  as  to  the  qu  ity  of  in- 
struction we  are  giving.  Here  is  the  field 
open,  with  the  materials  already  at  hand,  .  ^ 
the  apparatus  and  endowments  that  we  already 
possess.  Here  is  indefinite  opportunity  for 
improvement ;  and  I  pledge  myself,  in  return 
for  the  favor  which  you  ha  d  conferred  upon 
me,  to  do  wha^  lies  in  my  power  to  carry  out 
and  realize  this  deal. 

In  1871  Mr.  Diman  was  sounded  as  to  his 
willingness  to  accept  the  Presidency  of  the 
University  of  Vermont,  and  that  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Wisconsin  was  offered  to  him.  To  both 
of  these  proposals  the  following  letter  refers. 


242  MEMOIRS. 

TO   PRESIDENT   ANGELL. 

Providence,  April  19,  1871. 

I  am  greatly  obliged  to  my  Burlington 
friends  for  their  good  opinion,  but  I  can  con- 
ceive of  no  circumstances  that  would  lead  me 
to  relinquish  my  present  position.  So  far  as  I 
have  ambition,  it  is  much  more  for  scholarship 
than  for  position.  If  I  gave  up  my  present 
place  from  convictions  of  duty,  I  should  most 
likely  be  drawn  back  to  the  ministry. 

The  Wisconsin  people  have  written  again, 
urging  me  not  to  persist  in  declining  till  I 
have  made  them  a  visit ;  but  I  can  see  no  good 
reason  for  going  out  there,  and  shall  so  write 
them. 

Did  you  see  I  was  chosen  by  the  School 
board  to  look  after  music  ? 

Mr.  Diman  was  elected  to  the  School  board 
in  April,  1869,  and  at  the  expiration  of  the 
three  years'  term  of  office  accepted  another 
election,  ending  his  service  in  1875.  His  one 
tune  on  the  flageolet,  which  he  played  for 
the  entertainment  of  his  children,  hardly  enti- 
tled him  to  be  considered  a  musician.  Hence 
his  amusement  at  the  office  assigned  him. 

In  the  summer  of  this  year,  Mr.  Diman,  and 


A  DEER  HUNT  ON  THE  RAQUETTE.     243 

three  of  his  dearest  friends,  President  J.  B. 
Angell,  Rev.  J.  0.  Murray,  and  Mr.  Rowland 
Hazard,  spent  a  few  weeks  together  in  the 
Adirondack^.  The  eldest  sons  of  two  of  the 
gentlemen,  the  "  Little  Rest  "  and  "  Parvus 
Iithis"  of  the  company,  were  with  them,  and 
the  happy  days  in  the  woods,  where  they 
lived  on  the  "  fat  of  the  land,"  —  namely,  salt 
pork,  —  Mr.  Diman  used  to  say,  were  often 
referred  to,  and  remained  a  cherished  memory. 
Shortly  before  the  return  of  the  party,  the 
"Providence  Journal"  published  from  Mr. 
Diman's  pen  the  following  account  of 

A   DEER    HUNT    ON   THE    RAQUETTE. 

Raquette  River,  August  12,  1871. 

Do  you  remember  that  charming  passage  at 
the  beginning  of  "  Walton's  Angler,"  in  which 
the  lover  of  each  sport  so  ingeniously  com- 
mends his  own  chosen  recreation  ?  I  was  ever 
inclined  to  the  opinion  which  Venator  there 
expresses,  that  hunting  is  a  game  for  princes 
and  noble  persons.  My  own  earliest  impres- 
sions of  the  chase  were  derived  from  that  re- 
nowned ballad,  which,  Sir  Philip  Sidney  tells 
us,  always  stirred  his  soul  like  the  sound  of  a 
trumpet.  Once  in  my  life  this  romantic  ideal 
was  nearly  realized,  when  I  chanced  to  meet 


244  MEMOIRS. 

the  king  of  Bavaria  on  the  Konigsee,  return- 
ing with  a  gay  party  from  a  chamois  hunt. 
So  when  the  word  went  forth,  as  we  rose  from 
our  luscious  breakfast  of  fried  pork  and  maple 
sugar,  that  ere  the  day  died  we  should  dine 
royally  from  the  haunch  of  the  red  deer,  my 
bosom  began  to  glow  with  strange  emotion, 
and  visions  of  mighty  hunters,  from  Nimrod 
down,  seemed  to  beckon  me  to  "  spheres  of 
new  activity."  The  fresh  track  of  a  deer  lay 
along  the  river  bank,  where  we  had  pitched 
our  camp  the  night  before  ;  and  our  two  dogs, 
Turk  and  Dandy,  already  snuffing  the  scent, 
were  eager  for  the  start.  We  had  five  boats 
along,  and  it  was  quickly  settled  that  we  should 
watch  the  ground  from  Little  Wolf  Pond  to 
the  rapids  of  the  Raquette,  a  mile  below  our 
camp.  At  the  outset  I  could  but  remark  how 
notable  the  difference  between  hunting  on  the 
Cheviot  Hills  and  along  the  Adirondack  lakes. 
The  stout  Earl  of  Northumberland  drove  the 
deer  with  hound  and  horn,  and  woke  merrily 
the  woodland  echoes  as  he  swept  through  the 
forest.  We,  on  the  contrary,  were  to  wait  in 
silence  till  the  deer,  seeking  a  refuge  in  the 
water  from  the  dogs,  should  become  an  easy 
prey.  Our  only  promise  of  music  was  from 
the  loons,  which,  from  a  safe  distance,  sur- 


A  DEER  HUNT  ON  THE  RAQUETTE.     245 

veyed  the  impending  havoc,  much  like  the 
grim  prophets  of  Israel  in  Kaulbach's  cartoon 
of  the  Destruction  of  Jerusalem.  But  sport, 
thought  I,  is  sport,  however  pursued,  and  one 
must  not  make  ado  because  it  is  not  carried 
on  nowadays  as  when  the  gallant  Fitz-James 
urged  his  panting  courser  over  the  Brigg  of 
Turk.  The  post  of  observation  assigned  me 
was  a  low-lying  island,  on  the  west  side  of 
Raquette  Pond.  It  was  less  than  a  mile  away, 
and  before  many  minutes  our  swift  boat,  glid- 
ing 

"  Through  files  of  flags  that  gleamed  like  bayonets, 
Through  gold  moth-haunted  beds  of  pickerel  flower, 
Through  scented  banks  of  lilies  white  and  gold," 

noiselessly  buried  its  bow  in  the  soft  bank. 

Landing  from  a  Saranac  skiff  is,  like  matri- 
mony, a  work  not  to  be  lightly  nor  unadvisedly 
attempted,  more  especially  if  one  carries  in  his 
hand  a  loaded  Ballard  rifle.  Proceeding  with 
the  circumspection  which  the  situation  seemed 
to  demand,  I  had  scarce  tasted  the  "  sober 
certainty  "  pf  landing  bliss  when  I  missed  my 
guide.  The  next  moment,  raising  my  eyes,  I 
sj  ed  him  near  the  top  of  a  young  birch,  al- 
most the  only  growth  of  the  little  island,  ex- 
cept a  dense  thicket  of  tall  underbrush.  "  Is 
that  your  place  for  watching  ?  "  I  inquired, 


246  MEMOIRS. 

■with  ingenuous  simplicity.  "  A  man  could 
see  a  thunderin'  lot  o'  deer  down  there,"  was 
the  prompt  and  encouraging-  response.  A 
single  glance  at  the  smooth  bark  of  the  tree 
satisfied  me  that  my  part  in  the  first  "  swelling 
act"  of  the  day's  "imperial  theme"  would  be 
somewhat  subordinate.  Consoling  myself, 
however,  with  the  reflection  that  at  all  events 
I  should  be  in  at  the  death,  I  set  about  mak- 
ing the  best  of  circumstances.  The  boat's 
bow  furnished  a  convenient  seat,  and  if  I 
could  not  get  the  first  sight  of  the  flying  deer, 
I  could  watch  the  blue  light  on  the  distant 
hills,  or  trace  the  windings  of  the  opposite 
shore,  where  the  dark  green  of  the  fir,  the 
spruce,  and  the  hemlock  was  drawn  out  in  a 
long  reflection  over  the  glassy  water.  After 
all,  I  thought,  I  have  the  advantage  over  him 
who  chased  the  stag,  that 

"  Deep  his  midnight  lair  had  made 
In  lone  Glenartney's  hazel  shade." 

That  hapless  huntsman,  after  a  desperately 
hard  ride  over  a  rough  mountain  road,  lost 
his  quarry  and  his  good  steed  both ;  while  I, 
after  gliding  through  lily-pads  as  serenely  as 
a  Venetian  senator  along  the  Grand  Canal, 
have  only  to  wait  till  the  deer  comes  to  me.  I 
could  but  reflect  with  enthusiasm  on  the  pro- 


A  DEER  HUNT  ON  THE  RAQUETTE.    247 

gress  of  the  age.  What  did  it  matter  that 
the  age  of  chivalry  was  gone,  so  long  as  the 
age  of  breech-loading  rifles  had  come  ?  Why 
look  mournfully  upon  the  past  ? 

The  wide  scope  for  reflection  thus  opened 
to  an  active  mind  had  a  natural  tendency  to 
make  the  hours  go  barefoot,  till  a  burning 
sensation,  as  of  one  of  the  early  martyrs  roast- 
ing before  a  slow  fire,  called  my  attention  to 
the  fact  that  the  morning  breeze,  which  when 
we  first  landed  had  gently  rippled  the  lake 
and  rustled  the  tall  rushes,  had  died  wholly 
away,  and  the  pitiless  August  sun  was  empty- 
ing his  blazing  urn  upon  my  unprotected 
back.  After  whistling  vainly  for  a  breeze,  I 
became  convinced  that  a  new  departure  was 
no  less  expedient  for  me  than  for  the  Demo- 
cratic party  ;  so,  imitating  the  famous  example 
of  McClellan  before  Richmond,  I  discreetly 
changed  my  base,  which  by  this  time  had  got 
to  be  uncomfortably  hot.  The  only  covert 
was  the  thicket  in  the  middle  of  the  island, 
and  thither,  to  borrow  the  language  of  the 
illustrious  founder  of  Rhode  Island,  "  I  steered 
my  course."  But,  as  ill  luck  would  have  it, 
the  refuge  thus  opportunely  furnished  had 
been  preempted  by  earlier  settlers,  who,  ap- 
parently not  relishing  my  rash  invasion  of 
their 


248  MEMOIRS. 

"  Ancient,  solitary  reign," 

swarmed  about  me  in  countless  numbers,  pre- 
senting such  an  array  of  bills  as  almost  drove 
me  to  the  conclusion  that,  like  another  Rip 
Van  Winkle,  I  had  overslept  six  months,  and 
stumbled  unwittingly  upon  the  first  day  of 
January.  Nothing  daunted,  however,  I  drew 
on  my  buckskin  gauntlets,  and  resolved  that 
the  stump  on  which  I  sat 

"Should  fly 
From  its  firm  base  as  soon  as  I." 

Saul  slew  his  thousands,  David  his  tens  of 
thousands ;  far  be  it  from  a  modest  man  to 
boast  achievements  surpassing  the  leaders  of 
Israel.  The  historic  muse  shall  never,  with 
my  consent,  record  the  slaughter  of  that  day. 
But  even  as  a  concert  of  the  Philharmonic 
Society  becomes  wearisome  at  last,  so  does 
slaying  mosquitoes.  And,  however  exciting, 
it  was  sport  I  could  have  in  abundance  nearer 
home.  So  having  been  in  action  precisely  the 
same  length  of  time  as  my  uncle  Toby  at  the 
siege  of  Namur,  where  he  received  his  famous 
wound,  I  relaxed  my  active  hostilities,  and 
sought  peace  of  mind  in  the  pages  of  Harper's 
Monthly,  a  number  of  which,  by  advice  of  a 
more  experienced  sportsman,  I  had  brought 
along.     The  article  that  first  attracted  my  at- 


A  DEER  HUNT  ON  THE  RAQUETTE.     249 

tention  was  one  giving  an  interesting  account 
of  the  system  of  meteorological  observations 
by  which  we  are  daily  warned  of  the  approach 
of  storms,  and  the  mariner  on  the  Atlantic 
bidden  to  beware  of  an  enemy  creeping  up  the 
slopes  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  I  was  soon 
absorbed  in  a  graphic  account  of  the  great 
storm  which  wrecked  the  "  Royal  Charter," 
the  course  of  which  was  so  admirably  traced 
by  Admiral  Fitzroy.  I  forgot  mosquitoes 
and  deer  alike.  Here,  I  thought  with  rapture, 
is  something  to  be  proud  of.  What  are  the 
victories  of  Worth  and  Sedan,  compared  with 
those  of  science  ?  My  imagination  gratefully 
disported  in  this  new  field.  What  benefactors 
of  the  race  were  these  tireless  witnesses  of  the 
phenomena  of  the  air,  whose  observations, 
winged  to  Washington  by  the  "  viewless 
coursers  "  of  lightning,  were  there  condensed 
and  again  sent  forth  by  the  same  fleet  messen- 
gers for  the  benefit  of  mankind  !  Thought- 
less man  that  I  was,  that  I  did  not  bring  with 
me  to  these  woods  a  Nigretti  and  Zambra 
thermometer,  a  Wild's  self-registering  barome- 
ter, a  Hough's  meteorograph,  a  barograph  and 
thermograph  by  Beck,  of  London,  an  anemo- 
scope, an  anemometer,  and  a  copy  of  "  Bu- 
chan's  Handbook  of  Meteorology"  !    Kindling 


250  MEMOIRS. 

■with  emotion  at  the  thought  of  being  thus 
permitted  to  add  my  humble  mite  to  the  great 
sum  of  human  knowledge,  I  involuntarily 
lifted  my  eyes  to  see  what  grand  atmospheric 
disturbances  might  be  at  that  moment  prepar- 
ing, when,  to  my  amazement,  I  saw  that  the 
birch- tree  no  longer  had  a  tenant.  The  sun 
was  seeking  his  western  bed,  and,  not  relishing 
the  notion  of  being  left  alone  on  an  island 
while  my  companions  were  perhaps  gathering 
for  high  festival,  I  made  at  once  for  the  shore. 
Then  hi  a  moment  I  descried  the  boat  coming 
across  the  lake.  In  it  was  one  of  the  dogs, 
lame  and  panting  from  his  fruitless  chase. 
All  hope  of  seeing  any  deer,  so  far  as  we  were 
concerned,  was  up,  and  there  was  nothing  left 
but  to  row  back  to  camp  and  see  what  luck 
had  befallen  the  rest.  One  after  another  came 
in  with  the  same  story.  Not  one  had  so  much 
as  got  sight  of  a  deer  except  Little  Rest,  and 
whether  indeed  it  was  a  young  doe  he  saw  or 
only  a  huge  mosquito  that  boldly  bestrode 
the  patent  sight  of  his  Lewis  rifle,  I  will 
not  undertake  to  say.  Charity  believeth  all 
things. 

As  we  gathered  once  more  that  night  about 
our  festive  board,  and  studied  our  somewhat 
familiar  bill  of  fare,  we  were  unanimous  on  all 


A  DEER  HUNT  ON  THE  RAQUETTE.     251 

points  save  one,  whether  the  scalding  beverage 
presented  to  us  by  our  attendant  Ganymedes 
was  distilled  from  the  cheering  herb  of  the 
Flowery  Kingdom,  or  from  the  more  aromatic 
berry  of  Java.  By  general  consent  the  su- 
preme honors  of  the  day  were  accorded  to  the 
Parvus  lulus  of  the  company,  whose  resonant 
smiles  were  echoed  from  Peter's  Rock,  as  he 
came  back  to  camp,  bearing  a  magnificent 
specimen  of  the  Pilmelodus  cattus,  a  rare 
fresh-water  fish  of  the  family  Siluridae,  found 
only  in  the  rivers  of  America,  and  not  by  any 
means  to  be  confounded  with  its  salt-water 
cousin,  a  malacopterygious  fish,  so  common  on 
the  English  coast.  The  American  variety  is 
known  to  boys  under  the  vulgar  name  of  the 
bull-pout. 

Angling  has  been  commended  by  Walton 
as  the  contemplative  man's  recreation,  but  for 
contemplation  commend  me  to  deer-hunting 
in  the  Adirondacks.  A  penitent  soul,  who 
craved  a  calm  season  to  review  the  sins  of  his 
youth,  could  find  no  such  ample  opportunity 
as  in  the  exhilarating-  exercise  of  sitting;  in 
silence  for  six  or  eight  hours  on  the  banks  of 
Raquette  River,  or  the  shore  of  Big  Wolf 
Pond,  in  humble  expectation  of  getting  sight 
of  a  deer  "  there,  or  thereabouts."     The  mel- 


252  MEMOIRS. 

ancholy  Jaques,  who  was  wont   so  much  to 
mark  the  poor  sequestered  stag, 

"  That  from  the  hunter's  aim  had  ta'en  a  hurt," 

would  scarce  have  found  occasion  here  for  his 
"  thousand  similes."  Indeed,  had  I  in  hand 
some  literary  venture,  demanding  for  its  per- 
fect finish  a  little  leisure,  say  some  such  trifle 
as  Gibbon's  Decline  and  Fall,  or  Grote's  His- 
tory of  Greece,  I  know  not  where  I  could  dis- 
pose myself  with  such  advantage  as  in  this 
meditative  work  of  hunting  deer  after  the 
manner  practiced  in  the  Adirondack  solitudes. 
In  a  letter  to  the  historian  Tacitus,  that  ac- 
complished country  gentleman,  the  younger 
Pliny  declares  that  Minerva  coursed  with 
Diana  on  the  hills ;  but  for  all  that  it  fell  to 
my  lot  to  see,  the  Goddess  of  Wisdom  might 
have  the  Saranac  lakes  wholly  to  herself.  The 
exercise  is  strictly  of  an  intellectual  sort. 

Yet  were  it  ungrateful  to  leave  the  woods 
without  confessing  their  quiet  benediction. 
The  cherished  friendships  of  early  youth  were 
strengthened  with  new  ties,  and  the  burden 
of  the  unknown  future  was  lightened  with 
sympathy  of  hearts  long  tried  and  closely 
linked.  Though  we  got  no  deer,  we  felt  that 
we  had  not  environed  ourselves  with  the  sweet 


A  DEER  HUNT  ON  THE  RAQUETTE.     253 

surprises  of  nature  in  vain.  In  the  midst  of 
rollicking  mirth,  her  deeper  spiritual  lessons 
were  not  wholly  missed. 

"  For  who  can  tell  what  sudden  privacies 
Were  sought  and  found,  amid  the  hue  and  cry 
Of  scholars  furloughed  from  their  tasks,  and  let 
Into  this  Oreads'  fended  paradise." 


CHAPTER  XII. 

1871-1875.    aet.  40-44. 

Letters  to  President  Angell.  —  New  Lectures.  —  Articles.  — 
Offer  from  Princeton.  —  College  Work.  —  Arlington  Street 
Church,  Boston.  —  Normal  School.  —  Private  Classes. — 
Plan  defined. — Renaissance  Lectures.  —  Manner  of  Lec- 
turing.—  Analysis  of  Lecture. — Outline  of  Succe9ding 
Courses  of  Lectures.  —  Letters  to  President  Angell.  —  The 
Thirty  Years'  War. — Gustavus  Adolphus.  —  Simultane- 
ous Courses. — Evening  Classes.  — The  Friends'  School. 

Refreshed  by  the  summer's  rest,  Mr.  Di- 
man  returned  to  his  work  in  the  autumn  with 
new  ardor.  As  early  as  October  he  records 
two  articles  written,  and  new  lectures. 

TO    PRESIDENT    ANGELL. 

Providence,  October  25, 1871. 

I  have  a  fine  Senior  class,  and  have  much 
enjoyed  my  work.  Besides  rewriting  my 
lectures,  I  have  sent  a  long  article  to  the  "  New 
Englander."  *  In  the  October  number  of  the 
"  Church  Review  "  I  have  an  article  on  English 

1  "  The  Roman  Element  in  Modern  Civilization,"  New 
Englander,  January,  1872. 


THE  ARLINGTON  STREET  CHURCH.    255 

schools.1  Much  to  my  surprise,  I  received 
this  fall  a  call  to  Princeton,  but  promptly  de- 
clined  it    with    thanks. 


Providence,  January  20,  1872. 

We  have  finished  up  our  college  work  this 
week.  On  the  whole,  I  have  every  reason  to 
feel  satisfied  with  what  my  class  has  done. 
The  examination  was  both  written  and  oral 
for  the  whole  class,  which  was  a  new  thing. 
But  somehow  I  have  felt  less  interested  than 
usual  in  college  work. 

One  thing  that  has  tended  to  divert  my 
thoughts,  perhaps,  is  the  fact  that  I  have  been 
preaching  a  good  deal  this  winter,  and  under 
circumstances  a  little  peculiar.  Without  the 
least  intention  or  desire  on  my  own  part,  I 
have  awakened  a  good  deal  of  enthusiasm  in 
two  Unitarian  parishes,  and,  entre  nous,  coidd, 
I  presume,  have  a  call  from  either,  if  I  would 
consent  to  act  with  the  Unitarian  denomina- 
tion. I  have  had  to-day  two  long  letters 
from  Boston,  one  official.  Of  course,  I  can  do 
no  such  thing,  but  the  talk  about  it  diverts 
my  thoughts    somewhat   from    college    work. 

1  "English  School  Life,"  American  Quarterly  Church  Re- 
view, October,  1871. 


256  MEMOIRS. 

What  makes  the  matter  more  serious  is  the 
fact  that  the  pressure  comes  from  an  earnest 
class,  who  wish  to  set  their  faces  against  the 
radicalism  of  the  denomination.  I  often  think 
that  if  I  am  to  devote  myself  to  an  academic 
career,  I  had  better  give  up  the  ministry  alto- 
gether. One  cannot  ride  two  horses  with  suc- 
cess. Yet  I  have  never  been  able  quite  to 
bring  myself  to  this  resolve. 

The  official  letter  referred  to  was  from  the 
committee  of  the  Arlington  Street  Church, 
Boston,  very  courteously  asking  Mr.  Diman  if 
he  considered  himself  a  Unitarian,  and  if  he 
would  consent  to  be  a  candidate  for  their  pul- 
pit, with  the  understanding  that  the  society  is 
Unitarian,  and  that  the  pastor  is  to  work  heart- 
ily for  the  spread  of  Unitarian  Christianity. 
Mr.  Diman  sent  the  following  reply  :  — 

TO  EDWARD  WIGGLESWORTH  AND  BUCKMINSTER 
BROWN,  COMMITTEE. 

Providence,  January  21,  1872. 
It  gives  me  much  pleasure  to  answer  your 
inquiries.  My  denominational  position  is  not 
easily  defined  in  a  few  words,  as  I  am  not  a 
stickler  for  any  formal  statement  of  faith.  I 
regard   Christianity   as   emphatically  a   Life. 


NORMAL  SCHOOL  LECTURES.  257 

But  while  I  often  preach,  and  with  great  satis- 
faction to  myself,  in  Unitarian  pulpits,  and 
fully  recognize  the  service  which  the  denom- 
ination has  rendered  in  emphasizing  aspects 
of  divine  truth  too  much  overlooked,  yet  I 
cannot  call  myself  in  any  distinctive  sense  a 
Unitarian,  nor  could  I  work  heartily  for  the 
spread  of  Unitarian  Christianity. 

TO    PRESIDENT    ANGELL. 

Providence,  January  20,  1872. 

The  lectures  at  the  Normal  School  are  very 
simple  affairs,  though  I  have  a  large  audience. 
As  both  my  History  classes  are  now  under 
way,  my  time  is  pretty  well  occupied.  I  am 
going  in  great  detail  over  the  period  of  the 
Renaissance. 

The  State  Normal  School  was  opened  in 
Providence,  September  6,  1871.  Mr.  Diman 
was  present,  and  took  part  in  the  opening 
exercises.  During  the  following  winter  he 
gave  a  course  of  twelve  lectures,  on  Saturday 
mornings,  before  the  school,  on  Mediaeval 
History.  "  This  course  was  prepared  with 
special  reference  to  the  needs  of  teachers," 
writes  Mr.  J.  C.  Greenough,  then  principal  of 
the  school.     "  The  lectures  were   enthusiasti- 


258  MEMOIRS. 

.cally  received,  both  by  the  pupils  and  by  the 
large  number  of  teachers  and  others,  who  were 
in  attendance.  Every  subject  was  so  clearly 
analyzed,  and  so  vividly  presented,  that  the 
written  exercises  of  the  pupils,  which  were 
prepared  after  each  lecture,  were  usually  full 
and  complete  outlines." 

Each  year,  to  the  end  of  Mr.  Diman's  life, 
with  only  two  exceptions,  he  prepared  a  course 
of  lectures  for  the  school.  In  1874  he  gave 
lectures  on  the  Renaissance,  followed  the  next 
year  by  lectures  on  Art.  A  course  on  the 
Reformation,  in  1876,  was  succeeded  by  one  on 
Ancient,  Mediaeval,  and  Modern  Architecture, 
in  1877.  The  year  following  he  gave  no  lec- 
tures, and  in  1879  a  course  on  American  His- 
tory, especially  the  growth  and  alienation  of 
the  Colonies.  In  1880,  the  last  course  on  the 
Constitutional  History  of  the  United  States 
was  given. 

"  Some  have  supposed  that  these  lectures 
were  simply  repetitions  of  those  given  in  Brown 
University,"  writes  Mr.  Greenough.  "  This  is 
a  mistake.  However  strongly  I  might  urge 
him,  he  always  declined,  unless  he  had  time  to 
make  the  special  preparation  which  he  deemed 
necessary.  The  work  which  he  here  so  admi- 
rably accomplished  was  ever  the  ripest  results 
of  his  latest  studies." 


PRIVATE  CLASSES.  259 

TO    PRESIDENT    ANGELL. 

Providence,  February  26,  1872. 

I  have  been  busy  this  winter,  but  more  in 
preparation  for  my  private  classes  than  for  my 
college  work.  I  have  been  quite  thoroughly 
into  the  period  of  the  Renaissance,  and  as  some 
of  the  topics  were  new,  I  have  been  obliged 
to  read  up.  Besides  the  old  standard  authori- 
ties, I  have  found  two  new  books,  the  titles 
of  which  may  be  useful  to  you,  if  you  have 
them  not  already  in  your  library  :  "  Die  Cul- 
tur  der  Renaissance  in  Italien,"  by  J.  Burck- 
hardt,  a  very  thorough  book  ;  and  "  Italie  et 
Renaissance,"  by  J.  Zeller,  devoted  especially 
to  the  political  aspects  of  the  period.  I  have 
been  much  interested  in  the  subject. 

The  Friday  Club  met  here  a  week  ago,  and 
President  Caswell  read  a  very  interesting  paper 
on  the  Mount  Cenis  Tunnel.  Have  you  seen 
Whymper's  "  Scrambles  in  the  Alps,"  a  very 
fascinating  book  ? 

I  have  no  local  news,  which,  indeed,  I  sel- 
dom fill  my  ears  with. 

The  private  classes  to  which  the  last  letters 
refer,  and  for  which  Mr.  Diman  did  so  much 
and  such  admirable  work,  began  in  the  winter 
of  1870-71. 


260  MEMOIRS. 

Mrs.  Amasa  M.  Eaton,  then  Miss  Bunnell, 
writes  :  "  The  idea  of  arranging  a  class  in 
History  was  suggested  to  me  during  a  visit 
that  I  made  in  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  in  the  win- 
ter of  1869-70.  Mr.  James  De  Normandie, 
then  minister  of  the  Unitarian  church  at 
Portsmouth,  was  delivering  a  course  of  lec- 
tures to  the  young  ladies  of  his  parish.  I  was 
very  much  interested,  and  determined  to  see 
if  we  could  not  have  a  similar  course  for  the 
girls  who  had  been  at  Professor  Lincoln's 
school  with  me. 

"  Upon  my  return  I  went  to  see  Professor 
Lincoln,  and  asked  him  if  he  would  like  to 
lecture  to  a  bevy  of  his  old  scholars.  He  re- 
plied, '  It  would  be  pleasant  for  me  to  do  so, 
but  I  don't  think  I  am  the  right  person.'  He 
advised  me  to  see  Professor  Diman ;  I  did  so, 
and  told  him  the  whole  story.  The  idea  was 
new  to  him.  I  wish  I  could  recall  his  words 
more  vividly.  Now  I  have  only  the  impres- 
sion of  a  very  satisfactory  visit,  and  the  prom- 
ise from  him  to  think  the  matter  over." 

Just  before  Christmas  the  lectures  began, 
and  continued  once  a  week,  to  the  end  of 
April.  About  twenty  young  ladies  came  to  the 
pleasant  Angell  Street  house,  Tuesday  morn- 
ings at  eleven  o'clock.     The  members  of  this 


PLAN  OF  LECTURES.  261 

class  were  almost  all  schoolmates,  but  lately  out 
of  school.  In  January,  1871,  Mrs.  William 
Goddard  arranged  the  Friday  morning  class, 
which  met  in  her  parlors.  It  was  to  this 
class  that  Mr.  Diman  delivered  the  last  lecture 
of  his  life.  Still  later,  in  1873,  a  third  class 
was  formed  by  Mrs.  Rowland  Hazard,  for  her 
daughter  and  the  girls  of  her  age,  just  finish- 
ing their  school  studies.  This  was  a  Tuesday 
morning  class,  which  met  at  Mr.  Diman's 
house  at  one  o'clock. 

The  lectures  for  these  classes,  each  of  which 
had  about  twenty  members,  were  at  first  much 
the  same  as  the  college  course.  They  began 
with  the  fall  of  Rome,  and  extended  to  the  fall 
of  Constantinople,  for  the  first  winter.  But 
in  a  weekly  lecture,  and  in  some  sense  a  more 
popular  lecture,  Mr.  Diman  dwelt  more  fully 
on  picturesque  details,  and  the  essential  facts 
were  grouped  together,  and  presented  in  the 
most  simple  statement  possible. 

In  the  first  lecture  he  defined  his  plan  :  — 
"  There  are  two  ways  of  studying  History : 
to  take  facts,  as  Guizot  does,  or  to  take  indi- 
viduals as  types  of  the  times,  as  Carlyle  does. 
We  shall  try  to  combine  these  two  methods 
in  our  winter's  study.  History  is  the  only 
medium  by  which  we  can  interpret  the  present. 


262  MEMOIRS. 

It  is  alive ;  we  must  make  it  personal,  and  use 
the  imagination  in  studying  it. 

"  The  time  has  gone  by  for  speaking  with 
contempt  or  indifference  of  what  used  to  be 
termed  the  Dark  Ages.  The  researches  of 
Guizot,  of  Eichhorn,  of  Lehuerou,  of  Von  Rau- 
mer,  have  thrown  a  blaze  of  light  upon  a 
period  that  once  only  wearied  and  perplexed 
the  student ;  and  it  is  now  universally  conceded 
that  the  only  profound  interpretation  of  the 
great  social  and  religious  movements  of  later 
centuries  must  be  sought  in  an  analysis  of 
the  institutions  and  tendencies  of  the  Middle 
Age.  There  are  the  germs  of  the  great  prob- 
lems that  European  society  is  still  laboring  to 
solve." 

The  lectures  begun  in  such  a  philosophic 
spirit  followed  the  college  course  until  the 
Renaissance,  when  the  ladies  had  the  ad- 
vantage of  special  lectures  on  Architecture, 
and  on  several  of  the  great  artists.  "  True 
art  is  a  form  of  language,  an  expression  of 
the  higher  workings  of  human  consciousness." 
Leonardo,  Raphael,  and  Diirer  had  each  a 
full  lecture  given  to  them.  For  Leonardo, 
Mr.  Diman  had  great  admiration.  "  In  him 
we  see  the  culmination  and  perfection  of  art. 


LECTURES   ON  ART.  263 

In  an  age  pervaded  by  pagan  tendencies,  his 
art  is  still  truthful  and  pure."  Not  only  did 
he  admire  the  Last  Supper,  but  talked  so  elo- 
quently of  the  Mona  Lisa,  "  the  suggestion  of 
a  woman,"  as  he  called  her,  as  to  inform  that 
mysterious  picture  with  new  powers.  Her 
haunting  smile  appealed  to  him  more  than 
all  the  beauties  of  Raphael.  Even  the  Sis- 
tine  Madonna,  which  in  earlier  life  he  had 
declared  realized  all  his  ideal  in  art,  he  did 
not  grow  enthusiastic  over,  but  rather  dwelt 
on  the  portrait  of  Julius  II.,  the  fighting 
Pope,  as  a  wonderful  masterpiece.  From  this 
it  will  be  seen  that  his  sympathies  in  art  were 
all  on  the  intellectual  side  ;  that  he  cared  not 
so  much  for  beauty  of  color  and  form  as  for 
beauty  and  subtilty  of  expression.  Hence  he 
talked  of  Albrecht  Diirer  with  great  delight, 
dwelling  especially  on  two  plates,  the  Melan- 
cholia, and  the  Knight  and  Death. 

This  is  the  bare  outline  of  the  first  winter's 
course ;  but  who  can  describe  the  charm  of  Mr. 
Diman's  manner,  the  wit  of  his  sallies,  and  the 
convincing  eloquence  of  his  argument?  It 
was  in  these  informal  lectures  to  the  ladies  he 
knew,  many  of  them  dear  friends,  that  he  was 
at  his  best.  In  Mrs.  Goddard's  parlor  were 
beautiful  pictures,  which  he  enjoyed ;  and  in 


264  MEMOIRS. 

his  own  room,  lined  with  the  books  he  knew 
so  well,  he  was  even  more  thoroughly  at  ease. 
The  high  courtesy  which  distinguished  him 
never  let  him  forget  that  he  was  the  host,  and 
the  ladies  who  came  to  him  were  not  only  to 
be  instructed,  but  also  entertained. 

He  used  to  come  into  the  parlor,  as  the 
hour  struck,  generally  with  a  couple  of  vol- 
umes under  his  arm,  from  which  to  read  a 
few  paragraphs  in  the  course  of  the  lecture. 
He  bowed  slightly  and  gravely  to  his  near 
neighbors,  and  smiled,  that  smile  in  which  the 
eyes  had  more  part  than  the  lips.  Then,  with 
a  glance  that  took  in  the  whole  room,  he 
seated  himself  in  a  large  leather  chair,  and 
crossing  his  knees,  began  immediately.  A  few 
sentences  gave  a  masterly  resume  of  the  last 
lecture,  and  the  new  subject  stood  on  a  firm 
foundation.  In  his  hand,  or  on  the  table  be- 
side him,  Mr.  Diman  had  a  thin,  green,  covered 
blank  book,  of  essay -paper  size,  containing 
the  analysis  of  the  lecture.  Often  he  did  not 
refer  to  it  at  all,  so  fully  was  the  subject  in 
mind,  and  so  readily  did  the  names  and  dates 
spring  to  his  lips.  When  people  wondered 
how  he  lectured  so  easily,  they  little  knew  the 
care  and  accuracy  with  which  his  notes  were 
prepared. 


ANALYSIS   OF  LECTURE.  265 

Here  is  the  analysis  of  the  fifteenth  lecture 
in  the  second  year's  course,  dated  February 
27,  1872 :  — 

Analogy  between  German  Revival  of  Art   and  Revival 
of  Letters. 
German  art,  serious  and  spiritual. 
How  affected  by  life  and  architecture. 
German  Mediaeval  Art  (Byzantine). 

"Wilhelm  and  Stephan  of  Cologne,  1380. 
Revival  of  German  Art  began  with  the  loth  century,  at 
Bruges. 
John,  Hubert,  and  Margaret  Van  Eyck. 
John  reported  inventor  of  oil  painting. 
The  Giotto  of  the  North. 

For  Margaret,  see  "Arts  of  the  Middle  Ages," 

p.  300. 
For  Characteristics   of   the   Flemish  School,  see 
Taine,  "  Art  in  the  Netherlands,"  p.  105. 
Influence  of  the  Flemish  School  on  German  Artists. 
At  Augsburg,  Holbein. 
At  Nuremberg,  Albrecht  Diirer. 
Albrecht  Diirer,  born  1471,  died  1528. 
Characteristics  of  life  at  Nuremberg. 
His  marriage. 
His  journey  to  Venice. 
His  connection  with  Raphael. 

See  "  Albrecht  Diirer,"  by  Mrs.  Heaton,  p.  98. 
His  characteristics  as  an  artist. 

a.  The  peculiarities  of  the  Northern  or  Gothic  mind. 

b.  Tendency  to  the  subtle  and  the  supersensuous. 

c.  Love  of  the  grotesque  and  fantastic. 

d.  As    compared    with    the    Italians,    deficient    in 

grace. 


266  MEMOIRS. 

e.  Yet  thought,  as  lying  farther  from  the  surface, 

requires  more  imaginative  effort  to  grasp. 

f.  His  freedom  from  tradition,  and  sympathy  with 

the  Reformation. 
Dtirer  and  Melancthon. 
His  picture  of  the  Twelve  Apostles. 
Called  by  Schlegel  the  "  Shakespeare  of  Artists." 

This  analysis  is  shorter  than  many,  and  less 
full,  but  has  been  chosen  as  an  illustration  of 
Mr.  Diman's  method  on  account  of  its  com- 
pleteness in  itself.  As  the  lectures  were  in  a 
course,  though  each  one  made  an  integral 
part,  many  derived  much  of  their  interest 
from  what  went  before  and  came  after.  How 
this  analysis  was  filled  up  in  the  delivery, 
those  who  heard  the  lecture  will  remember. 
How  vividly  the  life  in  picturesque  Nurem- 
berg was  described,  what  witty  thrusts  were 
made  at  Diirer's  termagant  wife,  and  with 
what  enthusiasm  his  work  was  dwelt  upon  ! 

Mr.  Diman  had  a  fashion  of  stating  things 
in  a  very  startling  way,  occasionally,  and  would 
look  up  with  a  merry  smile  to  those  of  the 
class  of  whose  appreciation  he  was  sure. 
How  his  eyes  twinkled  as  he  said  :  "  When 
the  Crusaders  went  to  Palestine  they  went  in  a 
fury  of  religious  zeal.  The  two  most  valu- 
able things  they  brought  back  were  playing- 
cards  and  sugar  !  "     But  then  followed  a  long 


LECTURES  ON  FRENCH  HISTORY.      267 

and  interesting  explanation  of  the  service  of 
playing-cards  in  developing  the  arts  of  en- 
graving and  printing,  and  of  the  revolution 
in  all  culinary  methods  which  the  introduction 
of  sugar  created. 

The  lectures  on  the  Renaissance  were  fol- 
lowed, the  next  winter,  by  a  course  on  A  Cen- 
tury of  French  History,  the  period  from  Fran- 
cis I.  to  Louis  XIV.  The  development  of  ab- 
solute power,  dating  from  Henry  IV.'s  time, 
and  the  antagonistic  development  of  a  spirit 
of  free  inquiry  from  Montaigne  and  Descart, 
was  expounded  in  lectures  on  Catherine  de 
Medicis,  Montaigne,  Bossuet,  and  Richelieu. 
The  ladies  were  shown  how  "  absolutism 
paved  the  way  to  democracy,  and  free  inquiry, 
at  first  not  irreligious,  was  pushed  by  the  an- 
tagonism of  the  Church  into  infidelity." 

The  next  year  the  French  Revolution  was 
shown  to  be  the  logical  outgrowth  of  this  state 
of  affairs. 

That  Mr.  Diman  turned  to  his  ladies'  classes 
with  pleasure,  as  contrasting  with  his  more 
official  duties,  the  following  letters  indicate. 
Many  of  the  ladies  took  notes,  and  not  a  few 
submitted  them  to  his  inspection,  but  the 
work  was,  of  course,  purely  voluntary. 


268  MEMOIRS. 

TO    PRESIDENT    ANGELL. 

Providence,  January  10,  1874. 

Our  examina,^^  clos.p,rl  this  w^c-Jr.  J 
have  done,  on  the  whole,  a  satisfactory  term's 
•work,  with  a  class  diligent  rather  than  bril- 
liant. But  it  is  a  great  comfort  to  feel  that 
you  have  one  or  two  men  on  whom  you  have 
made  a  living  impression.  Much  college 
teaching  becomes  from  necessity  sadly  me- 
chanical. 

My  time  is  very  much  taken  up  with  the 
reading  required  for  my  outside  classes.  We 
are  going  over  the  French  Revolution,  and  I 
want  to  seize  the  opportunity  to  make  as  thor- 
ough a  study  of  it  as  I  can.  I  have  just 
finished  Morley's  Rousseau,  which  gives  a 
good  outline  of  his  political  writings.  There 
is  also  a  good  analysis  of  the  Social  Contract 
in  Janet.     But  the  subject  is  overwhelming. 

Providence,  January  30,  1875. 

I  have  been  up  to  my  eyes  all  winter  in 
the  Thirty  Years'  War,  which  I  have  been 
expounding  to  the  ladies.  I  manage  to  kill 
two  birds  with  one  stone  by  selecting  the 
subject  which  I  know  least  about.  It  is  a 
tempting  theme  for  an  historian,  as  we  have 


THE  THIRTY  YEARS'   WAR.  269 

in  English  absolutely  nothing  about  it  of  any 
value,  save  the  meagre  outline  in  "  Epochs  of 
History."  There  are  books,  but  all  second- 
rate.1 

These  lectures  on  the  Thirty  Years'  War 
were  afterwards  elaborated  into  the  course  so 
successfully  given  in  Baltimore,  as  will  appear 
in  a  subsequent  chapter.  They  were  prepared 
with  the  greatest  care,  and  listened  to  with 
delight. 

Lecture  V.,  delivered  January  5,  1875,  has 
the  following  complete  analysis  :  — 

New  phase  of  the  war. 

Swedish  army  lands  June  24,  1630. 
Gustavus  Adolphus,  born  December  19,  1594. 

His  personal  appearance.     Vehse,  1-363. 

His  winning  manners. 

His  careful  education. 

His  marriage.     Early  love. 

His  administration. 

His  three  wars. 

His  diplomacy. 
His  military  genius.     (Napoleon.) 

Restores  ancient  discipline. 

Reforms  art  of  war. 

1.  Reduces  size  of  regiments. 

2.  Lengthens  the  musket. 

3.  Shortens  the  pike. 

1  Written  in  1875.  Several  Histories  have  been  published 
since  then. 


270  MEMOIRS. 

4.  Reduces  the  number  of  files  from  ten  to  six. 

5.  Changes  the  artillery  charge. 

6.  Introduces  light  artillery. 
His  leather  guns. 

His  humane  theory  of  war. 
Motives  of  his  invasion  of  Germany. 

His  profound  religious  spirit. 

His  cause  one  with  German  Protestants. 

His  leave-taking. 

Presentiment  of  death. 

A  unique  character. 
His  position  on  landing. 

Attitude  of  Saxony  and  Brandenburg. 

Alliance  with  France,  January,  1631. 

Treaty  of  Biirwalde. 
His  military  policy. 

Convention  of  Leipzig,  February,  1631. 

Fall  of  Magdeburg.  May,  1631. 

All  neutrality  ended. 
Battle  of  Breitenfeld,  September  17,  1631. 

"  The  Lord  turned  Lutheran." 
Gustavus  occupies  South  Germany. 

His  demands  at  Mayence.     Vehse,  1-170. 

Suspected  by  the  princes. 

Supported  by  the  cities. 
Gustavus  enters  Bavaria,  March,  1632. 

Crosses  the  Lech,  April  15. 

Tilly  killed. 
Enters  Augsburg,  April  18,  Munich,  May  17. 

Elector  of  Saxony  enters  Prague. 
Retrospect  of  the  campaign. 

All  Germany,  except  Austria,  at  his  feet. 

The  first   Tuesday  class,  and   the   Friday 


EVENING  CLASSES.  271 

class,  followed  the  same  course  of  lectures, 
but  the  second  Tuesday  class,  having  begun 
two  years  later,  studied  a  different  subject. 
Thus,  while  the  first  Tuesday  class  heard  the 
Thirty  Years'  War  lectures,  the  second  class 
had  lectures  on  the  Renaissance.  There  was 
only  an  hour  between  the  delivery  of  the  two 
lectures,  involving  so  complete  a  change  of 
thought.  Refreshed  by  a  cup  of  coffee,  Mr. 
Diman  came  to  his  class,  and  made  them  live 
for  the  hour  in  the  times  he  dwelt  upon.  His 
facility  in  turning  from  one  subject  to  an- 
other was  not  the  least  remarkable  thing 
about  him. 

As  the  years  went  on,  the  two  Tuesday 
classes  were  thinned  by  the  marriage  and  re- 
moval of  their  members,  and  for  the  last  year 
or  two  were  united  in  one.  The  final  course 
of  lectures  was  the  same  to  both  Tuesday  and 
Friday  classes,  and  only  ended  with  Mr.  Di- 
man's  life.  Thus  for  ten  years  a  company  of 
ladies  sat  under  his  teaching.1  To  many  of 
them  it  was  the  best  part  of  their  education. 

At  the  end  of  each  lecture,  Mr.  Diman  rec- 
ommended books  upon  the  subject  under  con- 
sideration, —  Guizot,  Carlyle,  Dante,  Froissart ; 
the  list  fills  pages.     But  his  own  careful  habits 

1  See  note  at  the  end  of  the  chapter. 


272  MEMOIRS. 

of  reading,  dating  from  his  college  days,  and 
fostered  throughout  his  life,  were  made  of 
service  to  his  pupils.  "  Such  a  chapter  of 
Carlyle,  or  such  a  canto  of  the  Inferno,  bears 
on  the  point  we  are  studying,"  he  would  say. 

Beside  the  classes  of  ladies,  and  the  courses 
of  lectures  at  the  Normal  School  on  Saturday 
mornings,  for  the  last  few  years  of  his  life, 
Mr.  Diman  had  evening  classes.  One,  which 
counted  some  eighty  ladies  and  gentlemen  as 
members,  heard  part  of  the  course  here  out- 
lined. In  the  winter  of  1877-78,  a  course  of 
ten  lectures  on  Mediaeval  History  was  deliv- 
ered to  this  class,  followed  the  next  season  by 
ten  lectures  on  the  Renaissance.  In  the  fall 
of  1879,  a  smaller  class  was  formed,  which  in- 
cluded some  of  the  younger  college  professors 
and  their  wives,  and  other  ladies  and  gentle- 
men. To  this  class  Mr.  Diman  gave  a  course 
of  ten  lectures  on  the  Thirty  Years'  War, 
having  the  subject  freshly  in  mind  from  his 
recent  preparation  for  the  Baltimore  lectures. 
The  following  winter,  a  course  on  English 
History  was  interrupted  by  his  death. 

Beside  these  classes,  Mr.  Diman  lectured  at 
the  "  Friends'  School."  In  1868,  and  the  two 
following  winters,  he  gave  occasional  lectures 
on  various  subjects.     "  But  in  1871,"  writes 


LECTURES  AT  THE  FRIENDS'  SCHOOL.     273 

Miss  B.  T.  Wing,  long-  a  teacher  in  the  school, 
"  he  began  a  course  of  historical  lectures, 
which  he  continued  every  succeeding  winter 
during  his  life.  His  habit  was  to  select  some 
period  of  history,  and  to  give  what  he  used 
to  term  '  familiar  talks '  upon  the  events, 
political  and  social,  the  prominent  characters, 
the  discoveries  and  inventions  connected  with 
it.  The  Rise  of  Christianity,  Monastic  Life, 
The  Invasion  of  the  Barbarians,  The  Fall  of 
Rome,  The  Eastern  Empire,  The  Renaissance, 
The  Reformation,  with  wonderful  character 
sketches  of  Luther,  Loyola,  Calvin,  and  the 
English  reformers  —  these  were  some  of  his 
subjects.  In  one  of  the  later  courses  Mr. 
Diman  brought  the  history  of  England  down 
to  the  time  of  George  III.,  and  connected  with 
it  the  history  of  the  American  Revolution. 

"The  lectures  were  given  on  alternate  Fri- 
day evenings  from  October  to  the  first  of  May. 
He  always  appeared  to  take  great  pleasure  in 
talking  to  the  scholars,  and  often  expressed 
his  delight  at  the  interest  and  attention  shown 
by  the  younger  scholars.  He  evidently  en- 
joyed adapting  his  talks  especially  to  them,  in 
a  way  particularly  charming  to  his  older  listen- 
ers. Never  before,  I  believe,  was  the  story  of 
human  progress  so  charmingly  told." 


274  MEMOIRS. 

"  In  his  last  lecture/'  writes  Mr.  Augustine 
Jones,  the  principal  of  the  school,  "  he  said 
with  unusual  tenderness,  '  I  visit  no  place 
where  I  receive  so  much  pleasure  as  I  do  in 
coming  here  and  looking  into  your  young, 
bright  faces.'  How  little  we  dreamed  it  was 
his  last  mortal  look  !  It  seemed  as  though  the 
very  foundations  of  the  institution  tottered  as 
he  was  taken  out  of  our  lives." 

Subjects  of  lectures  by  Mr.  Diman,  delivered  to  a 
class  of  ladies  at  Mrs.  William  Goddard's  house  :  — 

1st  Course.  January,  1871,  to  April,  1871.  The  Mid- 
dle Age.  From  the  Fall  of  the  Western  Empire,  476,  to 
the  Fall  of  Constantinople,  1453. 

2d  Course.  January,  1872,  to  May,  1872.  The  Re- 
naissance, and  the  Reformation. 

3d  Course.  December,  1872,  to  April,  1873.  The 
Renaissance  in  France,  and  the  Religious  and  Civil 
Wars. 

4th  Course.  December,  1873,  to  April,  1874.  Decline 
of  Monarchy  in  France,  and  the  French  Revolution. 

5th  Course.  December,  1874,  to  April,  1875.  The 
Thirty  Years'  War. 

6th  Course.  December,  1875,  to  April,  1876.  Eng- 
lish History.     Illustrated  by  English  literature. 

7th  Course.  December,  1877,  to  April,  1878.  Eng- 
lish History  after  the  Restoration. 

8th  Course.  January,  1879,  to  May,  1879.  English 
History  in  connection  with  the  American  Revolution, 
and  the  Administration  of  England  under  the  younger 
Fox  and  Pitt. 


SUBJECTS    OF  LECTURES.  275 

9th  Course.  April  9,  1880,  to  May  14, 1880.  Six  lec- 
tures, —  an  Abridgment  of  the  Lowell  Institute  Course, 
—  delivered  in  February  and  March,  1880,  on  the  The- 
istic  Argument  as  affected  by  Recent  Theories. 

10th  Course.  December  17,  1880,  to  January  28, 
1881.     Modern  Statesmen. 


CHAPTEE  XIII. 

1872-1876.     aet.  41-45. 

Letters  to  President  Angell.  —  Preaching  in  Hartford.  — 
"George  Fox  Digg'd  out  of  his  Burrowes."  —  Election  to 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society.  —  Europe.  —  Letters  to 
his  Wife.  —  Letters  to  President  Angell.  —  Offer  of  a 
Parish  in  Boston.  —  Letter  to  Dr.  Ruf us  Ellis.  —  Friday 
Evening  Club.  —  Recollections  by  Dr.  S.  L.  Caldwell. 

In  order  to  secure  a  more  comprehensive 
view  of  the  work  done  for  the  History  classes, 
and  the  other  lectures  outside  regular  college 
work,  we  have  anticipated  a  little,  and  must 
now  return  to  the  letters. 

The  following  letter  shows  Mr.  Diman's 
interest  in  contemporary  art,  of  which  his 
study  of  the  great  masters  made  him  an  ad- 
mirable critic. 

TO    PRESIDENT   ANGELL. 

Providence,  May  7,  1872. 

I  had  a  delightful  visit  with   Murray  last 

week,  and  while  I  am  still  full  of  it,  will  write 

to  you.     He  told  me  he  was  soon  to  make  you 

a  visit.     It  almost   made   me  sigh  to  be   a 


PICTURES.  277 

Presbyterian,  that  I  also  might  be  a  delegate 
to  the  General  Assembly. 

In  New  York  I  saw  the  first  pictures  I  have 
seen  for  many  a  day,  —  among  them  the 
"  Parthenon,"  by  Church,  the  "  Slave  Ship," 
by  Turner,  which  you  remember  Ruskin  pro- 
nounces the  finest  rendering  of  water  ever 
made,  and  the  "  Good  Sister  "  of  Bougereau, 
worth,  in  my  opinion,  a  dozen  of  the  best  Ma- 
donnas ever  painted.  I  had  long  been  famil- 
iar with  it  through  photographs,  and  was  de- 
lighted beyond  measure  to  see  the  original. 

As  to  the  question  you  put  me,  how  to 
prevent  our  Universities  from  being  overrun 
with  half  -  educated  men,  I  can  propose  no 
remedy,  save  to  do  everything  possible  to  ele- 
vate the  proper  academic  department.  If  you 
can  succeed  in  turning  out  every  year  a  few 
really  educated  young  men,  by  degrees  the 
rest  will  come,  perhaps,  to  note  their  own  de- 
ficiencies. 

I  am  quite  busy  just  now,  as  I  have  the 
Seniors  twice  a  day,  the  labors  of  Professor 
Chace  being  ended.  I  am  teaching  at  the  same 
time  the  Constitution,  and  International  law. 

What  a  clumsily  written  book  is  that  of ! 

What  is  the  benefit  of  studying  Greek,  if  one 
writes  in  such  a  loosely  jointed  style  ? 


278  MEMOIRS. 

If  Murray  had  been  willing  to  go  with  me, 
I  should  be  looking  towards  Europe  ;  as  it  is, 
I  put  it  off  a  while. 

In  the  summer  Mr.  Diman  preached  several 
successive  Sundays  at  the  Park  Congregational 
church  in  Hartford,  during  the  vacation  of 
the  pastor.  He  stayed  on  these  occasions  with 
Mr.  William  H.  Post.  "  He  never  seemed 
like  a  stranger  in  my  house,"  writes  Mr.  Post, 
"  but  rather  as  a  member  of  the  family,  and 
the  children  anticipated  his  coming,  and  were 
delighted  with  the  stories  he  would  tell  them, 
while  they  gathered  at  his  side,  or  sat  on  his 
knee." 

President  Angell  was  now  in  Ann  Arbor, 
Michigan,  just  beginning  his  successful  admin- 
istration of  the  University. 

TO    PRESIDENT   ANGELL. 

Providence,  September  11,  1872. 

Several  of  the  more  important  points  touched 
upon  in  your  Report,  we  have  discussed  to- 
gether, especially  the  connection  between  the 
University  and  the  high  schools.  This  is  a 
wholly  unique  feature  in  your  system,  and  is, 
it  seems  to  me,  a  great  step  in  the  right  di- 
rection.    But  what  I  like  most  of  all  in  your 


GEORGE  FOX.  279 

Report  is  its  constant  looking  forward  "  to 
the  things  that  are  before."  No  school  of 
learning  can  flourish  that  is  content  to  rest 
on  its  oars.  I  hope  we  shall  follow  your  ex- 
ample in  requiring  French  for  admission. 

A  little  later,  Mr.  Diman  writes  :  — 

"  So  far  as  the  diminution  of  Freshmen  is 
due  to  more  rigorous  requirements,  it  is  a 
matter  that  will  soon  right  itself.  I  wish  ours 
might  be  reduced  the  same  way." 

This  autumn  the  fifth  volume  of  the  "  Pub- 
lications of  the  Narragansett  Club  "  appeared, 
edited  by  Mr.  Diman.  "  George  Fox  Digg'd 
out  of  his  Burrowes  "  is  a  much  longer  work 
than  "  John  Cotton's  Answer  to  Roger  Wil- 
liams," filling  a  volume  of  over  five  hundred 
pages.  Instead  of  arranging  his  comments 
on  the  text  in  notes,  as  before,  Mr.  Diman 
prepared  a  careful  introduction  of  over  fifty 
pages,  citing  all  his  authorities,  arraying  op- 
posing arguments,  and  disentangling  conflict- 
ing testimony.  For  clearness  and  grace  of 
style,  this  essay  equals  any  Mr.  Diman  ever 
wrote. 

This  critical  study  of  the  "  fourteen  Pro- 
posalls,  made   this   last   summer,   1672    (so 


280  MEMOIRS. 

call'd),  unto  G.  Fox,"  and  "  Of  Some  scores 
of  G.  F.  his  Simple  lame  Answers,"  left  Mr. 
Diman  a  warm  defender  of  the  Quakers.  Six 
years  later  he  wrote  :  — 

"  Let  us  never  forget  the  inestimable  ser- 
vice rendered,  in  an  age  of  dry  dogmatic  con- 
troversy, by  the  religious  body  which  revived, 
in  modern  times,  the  almost  forgotten  doc- 
trine of  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  is  said  that  the 
Society  of  Friends  is  gradually  passing  away. 
They  can  ill  be  spared  from  the  household  of 
faith.  But,  should  they  become  extinct  as  a 
sect,  it  will  be  only  because  their  mission  is 
accomplished.  The  great  cardinal  truth  of 
the  Christian  system  to  which  they  called  at- 
tention, which  kindled  the  enthusiasm  of  Fox, 
and  moved  the  eloquence  of  Barclay,  must 
appeal  to  human  souls  with  increased  power, 
as  the  years  roll  on,  or  Christianity  itself  will 
become  as  sounding  brass  and  tinkling  cym- 
bal." ' 

At  the  February  meeting  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Historical  Society,  Mr.  Diman  was  elected 
a  corresponding  member  of  that  body.  In 
acknowledging   the    election,   under    date    of 

1  Orations  and  Essays,   p.   387 :  "  The   Baptism  of  the 
Holy  Ghost." 


SAILS  FOR  EUROPE.  281 

February  20,  Mr.  Diman  says  he  is  deeply 
sensible  of  the  honor  conferred  upon  him,  and 
always  spoke  with  pleasure  of  his  connection 
with  the  Society.  The  date  of  this  election 
is  one  of  the  very  few  which  he  gave  himself, 
when  asked  for  such  data  for  a  biographical 
dictionary. 

TO    PRESIDENT    ANGELL. 

Providence,  February  5,  1873 
As  to  my  own  work,  the  most  useful  book 
I  have  recently  gotten  hold  of  is  Studd's 
"  Select  Charters,"  illustrative  of  English  his- 
tory. You  will  find  it  essential  for  the  study 
of  the  English  Constitution.  Freeman's  lee- 
tures  on  the  "  Growth  of  the  English  Consti- 
tution "  are  worth  looking  at.  I  have  also 
been  studying  the  new  edition  of  "  Gaius," 
by  Poste,  in  connection  with  Sander's  "Jus- 
tinian." 

Providence,  April  27,  1873. 

As  everything  in  my  household  seems  pros- 
pering, I  shall  sail  for  Europe  on  Wednesday 
by  the  Cunard  steamer  "  Cuba,"  to  be  gone 
three  or  four  months.  I  hope  to  meet  Henry 
in  Paris,  and  take  a  run  with  him  to  Italy, 
and  then  return  with  him  to  Portugal. 

To  get  away  at  this  time,  I  have  been 
doubling  up  my  work  at  college. 


282  MEMOIRS. 

Mr.  Diman's  household  at  this  time  in- 
cluded the  son  and  daughter  born  in  Brook- 
line,  and  two  other  little  girls,  the  youngest 
of  whom  was  only  a  few  weeks  old.  The  fol- 
lowing extracts  from  letters  to  his  wife  give 
some  account  of  this  trip. 

TO    MRS.    DIMAN. 

At  Sea,  May  8,  1873.  I  have  nothing 
special  to  tell  of  the  voyage.  Most  of  the 
time  the  weather  has  been  clear,  and  my  only 
amusement  has  been  pacing  the  deck  and 
conversing  with  my  fellow-passengers,  among 
whom  I  have  found  some  pleasant  compan- 
ions. 

London,  May  12.  Our  ride  to  London 
took  us  through  Rugby  and  Harrow,  two 
towns  in  which  I  felt  an  especial  interest. 
Attended  service  in  Westminster  Abbey.  I 
fear  that  my  thoughts  wandered  more  than 
once  from  the  sermon  to  the  surrounding 
scenes.  The  fine  statues  of  Canning  and  Pal- 
merston  were  just  behind  me,  and  my  foot 
was  on  Palmerston's  grave. 

Turin,  May  15.  I  write  you  my  first  let- 
ter from  Italy,  about  which  you  have  heard 
me  talk  so  much.  The  country  going  through 
England  and  France  was  beautiful,  and  the 


ITALY.  283 

ride  through  Burgundy  interested  me  very 
much.  At  2.20  we  entered  the  famous  Mont 
Cenis  Tunnel,  and  in  twenty-five  minutes  were 
through  the  mountain,  descending  the  valley 
of  Susa  into  Lombardy.  The  scenery  was 
grand  beyond  description.  The  engineering 
work  on  the  Italian  side  is,  perhaps,  more 
wonderful  than  the  tunnel  itself.  The  ride 
was  one  never  to  be  forgotten. 

Rome,  May  20.  The  ride  across  the  Ap- 
ennines was  of  wonderful  beauty,  especially 
in  descending  the  southern  slopes.  Indeed, 
I  came  to  Italy  to  see  art  and  antiquities,  and 
was  not  prepared  for  the  extraordinary  charm 
of  the  natural  scenery.  The  ride  from  Flor- 
ence to  Rome  was  an  endless  succession  of 
delights,  an  alternation  of  richly  cultivated 
fields,  in  which  men  and  women  were  gath- 
ering hay,  quaint  old  battlemented  towers, 
hills  crowned  with  ruined  castles,  and  distant 
mountains  lifting  their  snowy  peaks  in  the 
sunlight.  I  was  entirely  alone  all  the  way, 
and  had  almost  forgotten  to  mark  the  hours, 
when  suddenly  the  great  dome  of  St.  Peter's 
came  in  full  sight.  I  am  fairly  astounded  by 
the  remains  of  imperial  Rome.  I  was  not  pre- 
pared for  anything  so  vast. 

Naples,  May  25.     This  my  fourth  Sun- 


284  MEMOIRS. 

day  since  leaving  home,  I  spend  in  this  lovely 
spot.  I  sit  by  an  open  window,  through  which 
a  delicious  air  blows  from  the  bay,  which  is 
hardly  more  than  a  stone's  throw  off.  Directly 
in  front  rises  Capri,  where  Tiberius  used  to 
celebrate  his  orgies ;  on  the  right  is  Baiae, 
and  on  the  left  Sorrento,  each  stretching  away 
into  the  distance ;  and  standing  on  the  balcony 
I  have  a  complete  view  of  Vesuvius,  the  white 
steam  pouring  from  the  summit.  Though  it 
is  warm  in  the  sun,  the  air  is  delicious.  One 
can  realize  the  meaning  of  the  old  saying, 
"  See  Naples  and  die." 

Yesterday  was  given  to  Vesuvius.  We 
did  not  reach  the  cone  till  noon ;  the  blazing 
sun  made  it  very  hot,  and  about  half  way  up 
I  gave  out,  and  had  to  be  carried.  But  we 
were  abundantly  rewarded  for  every  fatigue. 
The  view  into  the  crater  far  exceeded  my  ex- 
pectations. It  was  awful  beyond  description, 
and  seemed  like  looking  into  hell  itself.  The 
sulphurous  steam  poured  up  in  dense  masses, 
and  when  the  wind  blew  it  toward  us  we  had 
to  run  to  escape  suffocation. 

Wednesday  morning  the  rain  had  ceased, 
and  by  laying  the  dust  had  made  the  day  a 
delightful  one  for  Pompeii,  where  I  passed 
several  hours.     Herculaneum  in  some  respects 


NAPLES,  ROME,  AND  FLORENCE.       285 

impressed  me  more  than  Pompeii,  since  it  is 
still  a  buried  city.  Pompeii  has  been  so  un- 
covered that  it  seems  like  other  ruins ;  but 
here  was  a  great  city,  with  its  treasures  still 
hidden. 

Rome,  June  1.  The  afternoon  was  spent 
among  the  wonderful  ruins  of  the  Palaces  of 
the  Caesars,  and  at  the  magnificent  basilica  of 
Saint  Paul,  without  the  walls.  Saw  also  the 
Temple  of  Vesta,  and  the  Moses  of  Michael 
Angelo. 

Florence,  June  8.  I  left  Rome  last 
Tuesday.  Although  I  had  enjoyed  my  visit 
so  much,  yet  I  left  with  rather  a  feeling  of 
relief,  there  seemed  so  much  to  do  every  day. 
My  visit  was  very  successful  for  the  end  that 
I  had  in  view,  and  I  could  not  but  feel  that 
my  ten  days  have  been  well  bestowed. 

—  The  return  to  Florence  was  made  by  way 
of  Leghorn  and  Pisa,  and  the  sights  in  Flor- 
ence were  seen.  —  The  statue  of  the  Venus  de 
Medicis  more  than  met  my  expectation.  The 
pictures  here  are  finer  than  in  Rome. 

Venice,  June  15.  We  climbed  the  Cam- 
panile, and  had  a  fine  view  of  the  city  and 
islands.  Toward  the  north  the  snowy  sum- 
mits of  the  Austrian  Alps  towered  above  the 
clouds.     We    strolled   for   a   while   in   Saint 


286  MEMOIRS. 

Marks,  and  then  attended  service  at  the  Greek 
church.  I  was  anxious  to  witness  this  service, 
but  found  it  stupid  beyond  measure.  The 
prettiest  thing  I  saw  in  the  church  was  a  little 
girl  holding  her  brother's  hand,  her  shoes  out 
at  the  toes,  who  reminded  me  of  L. 

Venice  is  not  a  place  to  be  seen  in  a  day, 
but  one  where  there  should  be  time  to  dream 
and  muse. 

Marseilles,  June  21.  Friday  morning 
I  left  Genoa,  and  came  to  this  city  by  the 
superb  road  along  the  coast. 

So  ended  my  long  meditated  tour  through 
Italy,  in  just  six  weeks  and  two  days  after  enter- 
ing it,  —  weeks  full  of  ever-changing  interest, 
and  passed  without  sickness  or  mischief  of  any 
kind.  The  way  by  which  I  went  out  was  as 
striking  as  that  by  which  I  came  in,  but  wholly 
different;  one  over  the  mountains,  the  other 
by  the  sea. 

Barcelona,  June  25.  The  contrast  is 
very  striking  between  Italy  and  Spain.  In 
Rome  and  Florence,  life  was  quiet,  and  the 
very  atmosphere  was  impregnated  with  art  and 
culture.  Here  all  is  stir,  and  the  whole  talk 
is  of  war. 

Madrid,  June  30.  We  left  Barcelona 
for  Valencia.     The  road  was  most  of  the  way 


spain.  287 

by  the  sea,  so  we  did  not  suffer  from  heat, 
but  the  scenery  was  singularly  uninteresting. 
Valencia  is  a  semi-Moorish  city,  with  narrow 
crooked  streets.  We  have  visited  the  Gallery 
and  the  Arsenal,  both  unrivalled  of  their  kind. 
We  go  to-morrow  to  the  Escurial,  and  hope  to 
start  by  Wednesday  for  Toledo  and  Granada. 

Granada,  July  6.  Yesterday  morning 
we  started  with  an  excellent  guide  for  the 
Alhambra,  spending  the  entire  morning  there. 
Aside  from  its  beautiful  situation  and  roman- 
tic history,  the  place  is  a  little  disappointing, 
and  the  exteriors  of  all  the  buildings  are 
mean  and  the  interiors  small.  The  stucco 
work,  however  delicate,  seems  a  little  cheap, 
after  the  costly  marbles  of  Italy.  In  the  af- 
ternoon we  visited  the  famous  gardens  of  the 
Alhambra. 

Lisbon,  July  13.  We  left  Granada  at 
midnight  Sunday,  the  only  time  when  any 
conveyance  started,  to  return  to  Cordova. 
Part  of  the  journey  was  a  wild  diligence  ride 
through  the  hills,  each  carriage  being  drawn 
by  eight  mules,  driven  up  and  down  hill  at 
the  top  of  their  speed  by  two  drivers  and  a 
postilion,  all  three  making  the  most  unearthly 
howls. 

We  passed   a  day  at  Cordova,  where   the 


288  MEMOIRS. 

great  object  of  interest  is  the  Cathedral,  for- 
merly a  Moorish  mosque,  and  the  largest  in 
the  world.  The  roof  is  upheld  by  nearly  a 
thousand  columns  of  every  style,  and  stolen 
from  every  Christian  land  on  the  Mediterra- 
nean. 

Tuesday  morning  we  kept  on  our  way  to 
Seville,  once  the  most  beautiful  city  in  Spain, 
but  now  in  great  decay.  The  attractions  were 
numerous.  First  we  saw  the  Cathedral,  a 
vast  pile  of  mixed  styles,  the  Gothic  predomi- 
nating'-. 

Then  we  saw  the  Alcazar,  the  former  pal- 
ace of  the  Moorish  kings,  partly  unimpaired, 
and  the  rest  splendidly  restored,  so  that  it 
seemed  to  me  more  magnificent  and  impres- 
sive than  the  Alhambra. 

London,  July  21.  My  wanderings  are 
safely  over,  and  I  say  to  myself  with  delight 
that  next  week  I  shall  sail  for  home.  I  shall 
stay  here  a  few  days,  and  then  make  a  short 
run  to  Paris.  In  my  letters  I  have  done  lit- 
tle more  than  give  you  the  external  history 
of  my  trip.  It  has  had,  too,  an  inner  his- 
tory, which  I  cannot  write.  It  has  had  many 
moments  of,  I  trust,  not  unprofitable  reflec- 
tion. 


FAST  DAY.  289 

TO  PRESIDENT  ANGELL. 

Providence,  February  26,  1874. 

As  this  is  the  day  set  apart  for  the  annual 
College  Fast,  instead  of  being  at  this  moment 
in  my  class-room  expounding  the  Wars  of  the 
Reformation,  I  am  in  my  easy-chair  at  home, 
exploring  the  recesses  of  my  own  heart  to  dis- 
cover, if  possible,  a  few  shortcomings. 

On  the  whole,  the  sin  which  moves  me  to 
most  poignant  repentance  is  having  inadver- 
tently omitted  to  thank  you  for  your  very 
graceful  speech  at  Cornell  last  summer.  .  .  . 
I  have  also  to  thank  you  for  a  copy  of  your 
University  Calendar. 

I  will  frankly  confess  that  I  am  no  more 
than  ever  a  convert  to  the  plan  of  educating 
both  sexes  together.  Not  that  I  dread  any 
moral  difficulties,  but  I  believe  the  two  sexes 
have  a  different  work  to  do,  and  should  re- 
ceive a  different  training.  But  we  won't  go 
into  the  question  here. 

We  have  begun  on  our  second  term,  and 
I  am  now  teaching  Political  Economy.  What 
a  field  you  have  before  you  to  enlighten  the 
West  on  this  subject  !  It  is  inconceivable  how 
such  a  flood  of  nonsense  could  be  poured 
forth  as  the  debates  in  Congress  show.    Alas  ! 


290  MEMOIRS. 

what  are  we  coming  to,  with  such  arrant  fools 
to  make  our  laws  ? 

Now  that  I  have  written  this  confession 
of  sin,  it  is  surprising  how  comfortable  I  feel. 
I  can  almost  say  with  Rousseau,  in  his  Confes- 
sions, "  that  a  glance  into  my  heart  convinces 
me  that  I  am  the  best  of  men."  But  I  have 
still  before  me  as  a  part  of  the  day's  duty 
listening  to  a  sermon,  and  that,  no  doubt,  will 
put  an  end  to  my  complacency. 

I  kept  quietly  at  home  during  the  vaca- 
tion, only  going  to  Boston  to  give  one  of  a 
course  of  sermons  in  King's  Chapel.  I  had  a 
fine  congregation,  and  a  very  good  time. 

Providence,  May  21,  1874. 

We  are  rapidly  drawing  near  to  the  close 
of  our  year's  work.  This  week  I  finish  with 
the  Seniors ;  the  last  part  of  the  time  I  have 
been  on  International  Law.  Public  interna- 
tional law  interests  me,  especially  in  its  con- 
nection with  natural  rights,  but  the  details 
of  Private  seem  to  me  rather  fitted  for  profes- 
sional study  than  academic. 

The  summer  vacation,  with  short  trips  away 
from  home,  followed.  In  August  Mr.  Diman 
was  in  Providence  again.     The  foreign  jour- 


PREACHING.  291 

nal,  containing  the  record  of  his  student  life 
abroad,  has  the  following  note  added  to  it :  — 

Providence,  August  12, 1874. 

My  old  and  dear  friend  Tiffany  dined 
with  me  to-day,  to  commemorate  the  twentieth 
anniversary  of  our  sailing  together  for  Europe. 
None  with  us  but  Professor  B.  and  J.  Had 
a  most  pleasant  time  recalling  old  scenes,  and 
sat  up  late  into  the  night  talking  over  the 
days  of  the  past. 

Twenty  years  !     Ehen,  fug  aces  annos! 

Mr.  Diman  continued  to  preach.  What  he 
wrote  of  Professor  Dunn  was  equally  true  of 
himself  :  "  He  relinquished  the  ministry  with 
profound  regret,  and  often  looked  back  upon 
it  with  longing  eyes.  To  the  end  of  his  days, 
and  amid  the  most  engrossing  academic  duties, 
he  could  find  time  for  the  preparation  of  new 
discourses,  and  himself  derived  from  preaching 
the  satisfaction  which  he  afforded  others." 

In  speaking  of  a  friend  who  had  left  the 
pulpit  for  a  college  chair,  he  writes  :  "  I  have 
sometimes  thought  he  might  exchange  for  a 
rural  parish,  but  never  dreamed  of  his  becom- 
ing a  fallen  angel  like  myself."  There  is  a 
world  of  pathos  to  those  who  knew  him,  in 
this  half-playful  yet  wholly  serious  sentence. 


292  MEMOIRS. 

TO    PRESIDENT    ANGELL. 

Providence,  October  21,  1874. 

I  was  waited  on  last  week  by  a  committee 
from  the  Second  Church  in  Boston,  with  an 
offer  of  the  parish.  They  have  a  new  edifice 
on  the  Back  Bay,  and  the  plan  is  to  have  an 
Independent  church,  that  will  draw  from  Unita- 
rians and  Orthodox  alike.  Dr.  Peabody  has 
written,  warmly  urging  me  to  go,  but  I  do  not 
incline  to  it. 

January  30,  1875. 

I  have  been  preaching  a  good  deal,  and  go 
to  Boston  to-morrow,  but  have  not  changed 
my  opinion  with  regard  to  a  charge. 

TO    THE    REV.  RUFUS    ELLIS,  D.D. 

Providence,  March  11,  1875. 

I  thank  you  for  your  very  kind  letter  of  the 
2d  inst.,  which  reflected  almost  precisely  my 
own  feeling.  My  own  difficulties  are,  in  the 
main,  those  which  you  express.  For  success 
in  the  ministry,  a  man  needs  to  be  the  mouth- 
piece of  a  sect,  or  at  least  to  be  able  to  express 
himself  with  great  distinctness  on  certain  dis- 
puted points.  On  many  of  these  points  my 
own  judgment  is  in  suspense,  and  it  would  be 
hypocrisy  for  me  to  assume  to  speak  with  au- 


OFFER    OF  A   PARISH.  293 

thority ;  and  in  such  a  position  as  that  which 
the  minister  of  the  Second  Church  would  al- 
most of  necessity  hold,  he  would  be  continually 
called  on  to  define  his  position. 

Aside  from  a  general  indisposition  to  resume 
the  responsibilities  of  the  pastoral  office,  it 
does  not  seem  to  me  that  such  an  independent 
position  as  that  which  I  am  invited  to  assume 
is,  in  itself,  desirable ;  and  I  quite  agree  with 
you  in  thinking  that  the  Back  Bay  is  not  pre- 
cisely the  part  of  the  world  which  stands  most 
in  need  of  additional  pulpit  ministrations. 

With  regard  to  the  Good  Friday  service,  I 
hold  myself  always  ready  to  render  you  a  help  ; 
but  I  fear  that  your  congregation  will  have 
too  much  of  me. 

Dr.  Roswell  D.  Hitchcock  about  this  time 
wrote,  "  Will  you  be  kind  enough  to  tell  me 
whether  you  have  any  wish,  or  willingness  to 
return  to  pastoral  life  ? "  and  called  Mr. 
Diman's  attention  to  the  needs  of  a  large 
church  in  New  York. 

TO    PRESDENT    ANGELL. 

Providence,  May  29, 1875. 

I  have  done  with  the  Seniors  for  some  time, 
and  next  week   all  the  classes  finish.     Com- 


294  MEMOIRS. 

mencement  will  come  June  18,  which  winds  us 
up  rather  earlier  than  when  you  used  to  heed 
the  summons  of  the  old  bell.  The  term  has 
gone  through  very  smoothly,  and  the  students 
have  done  good  work.  We  have  less  variety  in 
our  courses  than  many  colleges,  but  the  work 
is  as  thoroughly  done  as  anywhere. 

TO    PRESIDENT    ANGELL. 

Providence,  January  20,  1876. 

My  time  has  been  a  good  deal  taken  up 
with  my  outside  work.  I  am  trying  this  winter 
to  give  the  ladies  some  idea  of  English  his- 
tory. Our  club  meetings  have  been  pleasant, 
as  usual,  and  a  good  deal  enlivened  by  Dominie 
Thayer,  who  is  passing  the  winter  here,  and  is 
amazingly  cheerful  for  one  in  feeble  health. 

The  English  lectures  began  with  the  legen- 
dary period  of  English  history  before  the  inva- 
sion of  Caesar.  How  England  came  to  exist ; 
How  England  came  to  be  Christian  ;  English 
Institutions,  —  these  are  the  titles  of  the  fol- 
lowing lectures.  The  course  was  particularly 
rich  in  illustration,  and  gave  the  greater  pleas- 
ure in  that  it  showed  the  logical  sequence  and 
relative  significance  of  events  and  facts,  with 
which  the  classes  were  somewhat  familiar. 


OUTSIDE    WORK.  295 

TO    PRESIDENT    ANGELL. 

Providence,  March  25,  1876. 

Do  you  remember  how  seven  years  ago  we 
climbed  up  Mt.  Mansfield,  to  witness  the  total 
eclipse  of  the  sun  ?  Well,  the  Journal  says 
there  is  to  be  an  eclipse  to-day,  unfortunately 
hidden  from  our  mortal  gaze  by  a  snow-storm  • 
and  how  can  I  more  appropriately  commemo- 
rate such  an  interesting  celestial  phenomenon 
than  by  answering  your  most  welcome  let- 
ter.  .  .  . 

We  had  the  last  meeting  of  the  club  last 
evening,  at  Lincoln's.  Caldwell  read  a  fin- 
ished paper  on  the  Mendicant  orders. 

College  has  gone  on  very  quietly.  Work  on 
the  new  library  will  recommence  soon.  For 
the  money  we  shall  have,  on  the  whole,  a 
very  satisfactory  building.  This,  with  the 
new  court-house  and  city  hall,  will  change 
the  architectural  appearance  of  the  city. 

I  have  been  busy  with  my  outside  classes, 
and  with  considerable  preaching  in  Boston  ; 
but  I  have  a  depressing  sense  of  labor  frit- 
tered away  by  not  being  concentrated  on  one 
thing.  But  to  whom  is  life  wholly  satisfac- 
tory ?     Certainly  not  to  me. 


296  MEMOIRS. 

The  club-meetings  spoken  of  in  the  previous 
letters  were  those  of  the  Friday  Evening  Club, 
which  was  organized  in  the  winter  of  1867-8, 
Mr.  Diman  and  .one  other  member  drafting 
the  rules  and  regulations.  It  had  a  dozen 
members,  —  professors  in  college,  a  bishop,  a 
judge,  several  business  men,  clergymen,  and 
a  state  officer.  These  gentlemen  met  fort- 
nightly at  each  other's  houses,  to  read  and 
discuss  an  essay,  and  follow  it  with  a  supper. 
Of  a  hundred  and  forty-nine  meetings  during 
Mr.  Diman's  lifetime,  he  was  absent  at  only 
seven.  "I  think  we  all  felt,"  writes  Professor 
Lincoln,  "  that  from  first  to  last  he  was  the  life 
of  it  more  than  any  one  else.  I  will  not  say 
that  we  all  thought  him  facile  pvinceps  in 
the  club,  but  certainly  he  was  a  conspicuous 
chief,  not  only  in  his  papers,  always  marked 
by  ripe  learning  and  scholarship  both  in  con- 
ception and  in  style,  but  also  in  the  discussions, 
where  he  spoke  readily,  and  from  a  full  mind, 
and  to  the  point,  no  matter  what  the  subject; 
and  then,  too,  in  conversation  at  the  table, 
where  always  the  '  largest  liberty '  was  al- 
lowed, and  everybody  was  in  an  atmosphere  of 
good-humor  and  gladness,  there  his  wit  and 
wisdom  rang  out  rich  and  free  and  melodious 
in  its  gladness,  even  as  the  clear,  fresh  sing- 


THE  FRIDAY  EVENING   CLUB.         297 

ing  of  a  bird  (Shelley's  Skylark,  for  instance), 
that  must  and  will  sing  for  very  joy.  With 
every  one  of  us,  I  am  sure  that  the  memory 
of  him  in  those  evenings  will  abide  as  an  in- 
spiration forever." 

To  this  club  of  personal  friends  most  of 
Mr.  Diman's  essays  and  addresses  were  read 
before  their  public  delivery.  The  "Historical 
Basis  of  Belief,"  of  which  he  wrote  to  Presi- 
dent Angell,  was  read  here.  The  winter  fol- 
lowing his  Spanish  trip  a  delightful  paper 
on  Saracenic  Architecture  in  Spain  was  read, 
succeeded  the  next  winter  by  an  essay  on 
Spanish  Artists.  In  November,  1875,  the  ar- 
ticle on  "  Religion  in  America,"  published  as 
a  centennial  article  in  the  North  American 
Review,  in  January,  1876,  was  read  to  the 
club.1  Throughout  Mr.  Diman's  life,  some 
of  his  best  work  was  read  here,  much  of 
which  still  remains  unpublished. 

As  a  young  man  Mr.  Diman  felt  the  need 
of  companionship,  and  emphatically  declared 
that  man  is  a  social  animal.  This  he  con- 
tinued to  believe.  He  enjoyed  society,  he 
enjoyed  conversation,  and  was  in  every  way 
fitted  to  shine  in  social  life.  His  tall  and  well- 
made  figure,  his  fine  head  and  noble  bearing, 

1  Orations  and  Essays. 


298  MEMOIRS. 

made  him  noticeable  ;  and  his  conversation, 
full  of  graceful  turns,  of  witty  allusions,  or 
of  clever  paradox,  was  delightful.  How  often 
have  the  ladies  of  the  house,  at  the  club- 
meetings,  heard  his  clear  and  resonant  voice, 
followed  by  a  shout  of  laughter  from  his  com- 
panions !  He  had  always  a  story  to  cap  the 
climax,  and  told  it  in  his  inimitable  way, 
with  a  perfectly  grave  face,  and  perfect  com- 
mand of  voice,  but  with  such  laughing  eyes  ! 
"Diman  is  well,  and  as  dry  as  ever,"  a  college 
class-mate  wrote  of  him  in  the  days  of  early 
manhood  ;  and  this  peculiarly  mirth-provoking 
quality  of  humor  he  always  retained. 

Dr.  Samuel  L.  Caldwell  writes  of  thes'e 
club  evenings  :  — 

"  It  is  difficult  to  analyze,  at  all  events  to 
describe,  the  charm  of  Mr.  Diman's  conversa- 
tion. A  part  of  it  belonged  to  the  pose  of  the 
head,  and  indeed  of  the  whole  body,  —  the 
perfect  control  of  every  muscle,  the  firm  chin, 
the  fixed  yet  pleased,  the  piercing  yet  kindly 
look  of  the  eye,  the  sharp  cut  which  the 
teeth  gave  every  vocable,  even  with  the  deeper 
tones  which  came  from  the  other  vocal  organs, 
the  composure,  the  assurance  rarely  broken  by 
any  passion  into  confusion  or  demonstrative 


GIFTS   OF  A    TALKER.  299 

force,  the  smile,  the  laugh,  which  never  got 
beyond  what  he  had  to  say  to  spoil  its  effect, 
and  yet  which  kindled  a  beautiful  light  on  all 
he  was  saying,  and  sent  its  contagion  through 
a  company  of  listeners,  and  whatever  a  very 
striking  and  impressive  person  imparts  to  a 
man's  talk.  He  had  all  the  physical  gifts  of 
a  good  talker.  His  voice,  never  loud,  rarely 
lapsing  into  softness,  had  a  clear,  intellect- 
ual ring,  a  fixed,  decisive  quality,  not  aggres- 
sive and  yet  not  hesitating,  which  shot  his 
words  to  their  mark.  And  yet  his  conversa- 
tion was  as  far  as  possible  from  that  impres- 
sive and  elegant  manner  of  saying  nothing 
which  makes  some  persons,  apparently  elo- 
quent, really  wearisome. 

"  His  conversations  come  back  to  me  now 
chiefly  as  we  had  our  long  walks  together, 
when  they  took  the  form  of  dialogue,  or,  if 
I  inclined,  of  monologue,  and  at  the  Friday 
Evening  Club,  nodes,  coenaeque  deum,  where, 
in  '  the  combat  of  wits,'  he  was  kindled  into 
his  best.  And  yet  I  do  not  think  there  was 
any  great  difference  in  quality.  With  only 
another,  or  with  company,  there  was  the  same 
aptness  of  words  to  the  thought,  the  same 
freshness  or  fullness  of  knowledge,  the  same 
mixture  of  sobriety  and  fun,  the  same   dis- 


300  MEMOIRS. 

position  to  banter,  the  same  originality  with 
what  seemed  a  fondness  for  paradox,  the  same 
courage  of  his  convictions  and  boldness  in  their 
assertion,  which  made  his  talk  so  stimulating 
and  so  provocative  of  discussion.  Strangers, 
people  with  whom  he  was  on  no  confidential 
footing,  often  were  startled  by  his  fearless 
way  of  talking  about  things  which  seemed  to 
them  sacred,  or  about  which  they  were  very 
sensitive.  He  was  not  one  of  the  over-careful 
sort,  so  afraid  of  being  misunderstood  that 
they  are  really  unappreciated.  He  had  enough 
to  say,  and  he  was  never  afraid  to  say  it, 
even  when  it  seemed  singular  and  not  ac- 
cording to  accepted  opinions.  And  in  the 
club,  where  for  years  a  dozen  of  us  spent 
an  evening  together  once  a  fortnight,  with  a 
recognized  parity,  and  on  terms  of  entire  con- 
fidence, it  was  delightful  and  refreshing  to 
have  him  started,  not  only  in  criticism  of  the 
paper  of  the  evening,  —  in  that  never  ram- 
bling into  discursive  platitudes,  but  sticking 
to  the  subject  in  hand,  while  always  adding 
something  to  our  knowledge  or  breadth  of 
view,  —  but  in  the  unfettered  table-talk  after- 
wards, with  bright  wits  at  his  heels  to  spur 
him  on.  Nobody  could  trip  him ;  he  held 
his  own,  even  in  the  drollest  paradoxes.     The 


CONVERSATIONAL  POWERS.  301 

gravity  with  which  he  would  maintain  them 
might  puzzle  persons  unused  to  his  conversa- 
tion, and  leave  them  uncertain  how  far  he  was 
in  earnest.  We  came  to  learn  how  much 
deep  conviction  often  lay  under  his  enigmas 
and  raillery.  And  often  he  would  straighten 
himself  to  a  strain  of  subdued  eloquence,  in 
which  his  deepest  thought  and  best  feeling 
came  out.  He  was  not  given  to  much  story- 
telling, and  I  think  would  hardly  pass  for  a 
brilliant  raconteur. 

"  Senator  Anthony  once  gave  me  an  instance 
of  the  ludicrous  perplexity  into  which  a  stran- 
ger could  fall  over  some  of  his  bold,  and  what 
seemed  paradoxical,  utterances,  in  the  case  of 
the  Turkish  Minister  at  Washington,  who  once 
met  him  at  a  dinner-table  in  Providence.  He 
was  of  the  Greek  obedience,  and  was  so  puz- 
zled by  the  talk  of  the  brilliant  Professor, 
that  he  asked  the  Senator  what  his  religion 
might  be,  for  he  talked  as  if  he  might  belong 
to  the  Orthodox  Apostolic  Church.  Proba- 
bly he  had  shown  an  acquaintance  with  the 
doctrines  of  the  Minister's  own  church,  which 
he  mistook  for  acceptance  of  them,  and  very 
likely  talked  in  the  large  catholic  way  which 
was  natural  to  his  mental  temper,  with  just 
enough  of  that  mixture  of  fun  which  charmed 


302  MEMOIRS. 

those  who  understood  it,  and  perplexed  those 
who  did  not. 

"  I  may  as  well  give  up  here  trying  to  trans- 
late that  subtle  charm  of  his  talk,  which  is  so 
easy  and  sweet  to  remember,  and  so  hard  to 
put  into  any  fit  description.  The  silver  reso- 
nance of  that  voice  still'  dwells  in  our  ears, 
though  it  is  silent  forever.  That  fine  sarcasm 
which  I  see  now  going  down  that  speaking 
face,  and  into  his  nose  and  lip  and  tones ; 
that  incisive  wit  and  wisdom  which  penetrated 
his  very  voice  and  manner ;  that  swift  passage 
of  his  mind  and  his  talk  from  grave  to  gay, 
from  lively  to  severe ;  that  rich  culture  which 
made  his  words,  his  very  manner  of  saying 
anything,  music ;  that  calm  power  which  held 
listeners  like  a  magnet,  —  it  is  all  like  water 
spilt  upon  the  ground,  which  cannot  be  gath- 
ered up  again.  Hardly  a  drop  of  it,  in  its 
fresh  beauty,  have  I  been  able  to  recover ;  for 
how  great,  and  yet  how  indescribable,  the 
charm  of  our  friend's  conversation  was." 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

1877-1879.     aet.  46-48. 

Oration  at  Cambridge.  —  Letter  to  President  Angell.  — 
Offer  of  a  Professorship  in  the  Johns  Hopkins  Univer- 
sity. —  North  American  Review.  —  Reform  School.  — 
Rhode  Island  Hospital.  —  The  Capture  of  Prescott.  — 
The  Roger  Williams  Address.  —  Letters.  —  Address  at 
the  Opening  of  the  Rogers  Free  Library  in  Bristol.  — 
Bristol.  —  Commencement.  —  Letter  to  Mr.  Augustus 
Lowell.  —  Letter  to  President  Gilman.  —  Accepts  Invita- 
tion to  deliver  a  Course  of  Lectures  before  the  Low- 
ell Institute.  —  Baltimore.  —  Lectures.  —  Preparation  of 
Briefs.  —  President  Gilman  on  the  Lectures.  —  Letters 
to  Mrs.  Diman. 

Under  date  of  June  26,  1876,  Mr.  Diman 
wrote  to  President  Angell :  "  At  such  inter- 
vals of  time  as  I  could  command,  I  have  been 
■working  on  a  Phi  Beta  Kappa  oration,1  which 
I  am  to  give  at  Cambridge  this  week."  This 
is  his  only  allusion  to  what  was  the  most  no- 
ticeable event  of  his  academic  life.  The  bril- 
liant assembly  in  Sanders  Theatre  were  won 
by  his  calm  and  forcible  delivery,  no  less  than 

1(<The  Alienation  of  the  Educated  Class  from  Politics." 
Orations  and  Essays. 


304  MEMOIRS. 

by  the  depth  and  richness  of  his  thought,  as 
he  set  forth  his  conviction  "  that  a  seat  of  lib- 
eral discipline  fulfills  its  noblest  functions  in 
the  rearing  of  wise,  magnanimous,  public-spir- 
ited men,  —  of  men  not  merely  equipped  for 
scientific  pursuits,  but  accustomed  to  the  most 
generous  recognition  of  the  responsibilities 
resting  upon  man  as  man." 

TO    PRESIDENT    ANGELL. 

January  2,  1877. 

What  better  beginning  can  I  make  for  the 
New  Year,  after  paying  my  small  bills,  than 
by  writing  you  ?  How  long  ago  already 
seems  our  day's  fishing  at  Gay  Head,  yet  how 
swiftly  the  weeks  have  fled.  .  .  .  My  work  at 
college  has  gone  on  as  usual,  and  since  Thanks- 
giving I  have  had  the  additional  occupation 
of  my  History  classes.  On  the  whole  I  do 
not  know  that  I  have  suffered  in  mind  or 
body,  save  in  the  attempt  to  read  "  Daniel 
Deronda  "  aloud  to  my  wife.  I  think  I  told 
you  last  summer  of  Gilman's  offer.1     He  came 

1  May  29,  1876,  Mr.  Diman  wrote  to  President  Gilman  : 
"  The  substance  of  my  letter  to  you  was,  that  while  I  feel  a 
deep  interest  in  the  undertaking  in  which  you  are  engaged, 
and  under  ordinary  circumstances  should  regard  it  as  a  priv- 
ilege to  cooperate  with  you,  yet  considerations  of  a  purely 
domestic  nature  would  render  any  change  of  residence  at  the 


AMOUNT  OF  WORK.  305 

on  to  see  me  this  fall,  but  with  no  other  re- 
sult. There  is  much  in  the  position  that  would 
be  tempting,  were  there  no  other  claims  upon 
me.  Last  week  I  went  to  Boston  by  invitation 
to  see  the  new  editors  of  the  North  American, 
who  want  to  enlist  my  zealous  cooperation. 
Their  plan  is  to  make  the  venerable  quarterly 
a  sort  of  Contemporary  Review.  I  confess  I 
am  not  without  doubts  as  to  the  success  of 
the  plan. 

The  year  was  a  full  one,  as  all  Mr.  Diman's 
years  were.  The  History  classes,  of  which 
there  were  still  three,  the  Friends'  School  Fri- 
day lectures,  the  Normal  School  Saturday 
lectures,  made  four  or  five  lectures  a  week,  be- 
sides college  work,  which  required  a  daily 
lecture  to  the  Seniors,  and  in  the  last  half-year 
two  lectures  a  week  on  Political  Economy. 
The  revision  of  examination  papers  and  weekly 
analyses,  or  written  answers  to  questions,  also 
required  time. 

Most  men  would  have  considered  this  a 
sufficient  amount  of  work;  but  to  this  Mr. 
Diman  added  frequent  preaching,  and  the 
duties  on  the  School  Board,  which,  however, 

time  so  difficult  that  it  would  be  unjust  to  you  to  allow  you 
to  urge  your  flattering  proposal  any  further." 


306  MEMOIRS. 

were  given  up  in  1875 ;  and  he  was  also  a 
trustee  of  the  Rhode  Island  Hospital,  and  of 
the  Reform  School.  To  the  latter  office  he 
was  elected  in  1871,  continuing  in  office  till 
June,  1880,  when  the  duties  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees  ended  with  the  transfer  of  the  insti- 
tution to  the  State.  For  two  months  in  each 
year  Mr.  Diman  conducted  the  religious  ser- 
vices of  the  Institution.  "  No  one,"  wrote 
Superintendent  Eldridge,  shortly  after  Mr. 
Diman's  death,  "  can  estimate  the  influence  of 
his  instructive  addresses  to  the  children,  and 
of  his  noble  presence  and  exalted  character. 
The  learned  and  great  all  over  the  land  will 
pay  fitting  tribute  to  his  memory  ;  but  to  my 
mind  the  tearful,  sad  faces  of  a  hundred  and 
eighty  friendless  children,  each  feeling  a  per- 
sonal loss  in  the  removal  of  one  they  knew 
cared  for  them  and  sympathized  with  them, 
is  no  slight  testimony  to  his  worth  and  nobility 
of  character." 

That  the  boys  of  the  school  really  trusted 
him  was  shown  by  an  incident  which  occurred 
one  Sunday  afternoon,  by  which  Mr.  Diman 
was  touched  and  pleased,  and  also  a  little 
troubled.  Two  boys  had  escaped  from  the 
Reform  School,  and  a  reward  was  offered  by 
the  State  for  their  capture.     As  Mr.  Diman 


PUBLIC  CHARITIES.  307 

was  walking  in  his  garden,  one  of  these  boys 
came  to  him,  told  him  who  he  was,  his  reasons 
for  making  the  escape,  and  what  he  considered 
the  injustice  of  his  treatment.  As  they  were 
talking  together,  a  policeman  came  by  and 
slowly  walked  the  whole  length  of  the  garden. 
Mr.  Diman  said  he  was  puzzled.  As  an  offi- 
cer of  the  school  it  was  his  duty  to  have  the 
boy  returned,  but  the  boy  had  confided  in 
him,  and  come  to  him  as  a  man  as  well  as  an 
officer.  As  the  policeman  passed,  Mr.  Diman 
said  :  "  I  could  have  called  that  man  and  had 
you  arrested."  "I  know  you  could,"  said  the 
boy,  "  and  I  was  ready  to  run,  but  I  saw  you 
were  not  sroino;  to." 

Mr.  Diman  was  elected  a  trustee  of  the 
Rhode  Island  Hospital  in  November,  1874. 
The  trustees  appoint  the  surgical  and  medical 
staff,  and  have  the  entire  control  of  the  affairs 
of  the  hospital.  Each  trustee  has  a  term  of 
service,  which  requires  a  weekly  visit  of  inspec- 
tion during  its  continuance.  These  visits  Mr. 
Diman  punctually  made,  often  making  more 
than  the  stated  number.  In  addition  he  was 
often  placed  upon  special  committees,  and 
entered  heartily  into  all  the  interests  of  the 
institution. 

His  love  of  all  children  made  him  particu- 


308  MEMOIRS. 

larly  tender  to  the  little  ones  in  the  hospital, 
and  interested  him  strongly  in  the  establish- 
ment of  a  children's  ward,  which  he  did  not 
live  to  see.  One  poor  little  girl,  who  was  suf- 
fering from  a  most  repulsive  disease,  particu- 
larly attracted  his  sympathy,  and  she  became 
ardently  devoted  to  him.  She  would  come 
running  to  meet  him,  and  with  her  little  hand 
in  his  make  the  tour  of  the  wards  with  him. 
On  one  occasion  he  promised  her  a  doll,  and 
found  her  at  his  next  visit  sitting  on  the  stairs 
eagerly  awaiting  his  arrival. 

At  Portsmouth,  on  the  island  of  Rhode 
Island,  July  10,  1877,  Mr.  Diman  delivered 
the  oration  on  the  capture  of  Prescott,  by  Bar- 
ton, in  1777.  This  was  soon  after  published 
by  Mr.  S.  S.  Eider,  and  is  the  first  number  of 
the  "  Rhode  Island  Historical  Tracts." 

The  address  at  the  unveiling  of  the  Roger 
Williams  monument  followed  on  October  16 
of  the  same  year.1  This  address  was  most 
rapidly  written.  The  sheets  were  sent  to  the 
printer  as  they  were  finished,  so  that  Mr.  Di- 
man never  saw  the  whole  of  the  manuscript 
together.  The  proof  came  back  to  him, 
which  he  read  over  a  few  times,  and  with  it 
in  his  pocket  as  a  safeguard  in  case  of  any 

1  Orations  and  Essays. 


THE  ROGER    WILLIAMS  ADDRESS.     309 

embarrassment,  delivered  the  whole  oration 
with  splendid  effect,  without  a  pause  or  hesi- 
tation. Mr.  S.  S.  Rider  asked  Mr.  Diman  if 
he  would  give  him  the  manuscript  to  preserve. 
Mr.  Diman  told  him,  certainly  he  could  have 
it  if  he  could  find  it,  and  Mr.  Rider  secured 
it  from  the  printer's  waste-basket !  He  found 
it  without  a  single  erasure  or  correction.  "  I 
remember  his  telling  me,"  writes  Mr.  Vose, 
"  when  I  expressed  surprise  at  the  orations  he 
delivered  without  notes,  that  it  was  scarcely 
any  effort,  but  after  a  few  readings  the  words 
and  phrases  came  to  him,  without  care,  in  their 
perfect  order." 

Of  this  oration  Mr.  Diman  writes  :  — 

TO    PRESIDENT    ANGELL. 

Providence,  November  1,  1877. 

The  Roger  Williams  affair  turned  out  far 
beyond  my  expectations.  An  enormous  crowd 
was  assembled,  and  everybody  seemed  very 
enthusiastic. 

This  year  Mr.  Diman  made  his  first  contri- 
bution to  the  "  Nation,"  which  published,  July 
16,  an  article  on  "  Baptists  and  Quakers,"  — 
a  theme  which  grew  naturally  out  of  the  prep- 
aration of  the  Roger  Williams  address. 


310  MEMOIRS. 

TO    PRESIDENT    GILMAN. 

Providence,  January  14,  1878. 

It  will  give  me  great  pleasure  to  accept 
the  invitation  conveyed  in  your  note  of  the 
4th  instant,  to  give  one  of  the  afternoon 
courses  of  lectures  at  the  Johns  Hopkins  Uni- 
versity, during  the  session  of  1878-79. 

TO    PRESIDENT    ANGELL. 

Providence,  January  27,  1878. 

Will  it  be  laid  to  my  charge  by  the  re- 
cording angel,  if  I  turn  from  the  task  of  read- 
ing examination  papers  to  write  you  a  few 
lines  ?  .  .   . 

I  read  with  much  pleasure  the  account  of 
your  success  at  Cincinnati.  I  am  anxious  to 
hear  more  about  it,  especially  your  method  of 
treatment,  as  I  expect  to  have  a  similar  task 
next  winter  at  Baltimore.  How  much  do 
you .  write,  and  how  much  prepare  merely  by 
notes  ? 

I  have  been  very  busy  this  winter,  as  I 
have  had  a  good  deal  of  outside  work.  Next 
week  I  have  a  Sunday  address 1  to  give  at  Bos- 
ton. But  it  is  a  sort  of  work  that  does  not 
satisfy,  it  is  so  much  scattered. 

1  Sermon    on  Future    Punishment.     Preached   at   King's 
Chapel  February  10th. 


COMMENCEMENT.  311 

Part  of  the  "  outside  work"  this  winter  was 
an  address  at  the  opening  of  the  Rogers  Free 
Library  in  Bristol,1  delivered  January  12, 
1878.  For  Bristol  Mr.  Diman  always  retained 
his  early  love,  and  there  also  he  was  greatly 
beloved. 

TO    PRESIDENT    ANGELL. 

Providence,  June  20,  1878. 
While  the  impression  of  Commencement 
is  still  fresh,  I  will  give  you  some  account  of 
it.  .  .  .  To  me  personally  the  day  is  always  a 
little  sober,  for  I  miss  the  old  circle  that  used 
to  meet  at  your  house.  I  fear  the  "  tender 
grace  "  of  that  day  will  never  come  back. 

The  "  tender  grace  "  of  the  days  that  return 
no  more  has  cast  its  charm  over  the  reflections 
with  which  Commencement  day  was  greeted 
by  the  Journal  of  that  morning. 

Among  the  great  festivals  which  break  the 
rapid  and  unending  rounds  of  the  seasons, 
there  is  none  that  brings  with  it  the  peculiar 
associations  which  belong  to  that  which  we 
celebrate    to-day.       There    are     others    more 

1  Dedication  of  the  Rogers  Free  Library,  Bristol,  Rhode 
Island.     Providence:    Sidney  S.  Rider,  1878. 


312  MEMOIRS. 

closely  connected  with  household  memories,  or 
with  the  great  events  of  ecclesiastical  or  civil 
life  ;  but  Commencement  calls  back  the  buoy- 
ant feelings  of  the  early  days  when  hope  was 
bright  and  aspiration  was  high  ;  and  the  long 
procession  with  which  it  fills  our  streets,  led 
by  the  alert  and  eager  step  of  youth,  and 
closed  with  the  tottering  steps  of  age,  is  a 
solemn  panorama  of  human  history.  There 
are  other  processions  which  have  more  to  at- 
tract the  attention  of  a  crowd,  but  there  is 
none  more  impressive  to  a  thoughtful  observer. 
Year  by  year,  for  more  than  a  century,  it  has 
pursued  its  accustomed  route  ;  each  year  some 
familiar  form  is  missing  from  it ;  yet  each  year 
the  vacant  places  are  filled,  and  it  grows 
larger  and  larger  with  the  sturdy  growth  of 
the  ancient  University,  each  season  bringing 
its  new  accession,  one  day  in  turn  to  become 
gray-haired  and  pass  away.  We  cannot  but 
think  that  some  wholesome  lessons  are  con- 
veyed by  such  a  spectacle,  and  that  few  can 
walk  to-day  in  this  long  line,  in  which  succes- 
sive generations  are  thus  represented,  without 
having  reflection  tinned  with  a  more  sober 
coloring.  It  must  be  a  benefit,  once  a  year, 
to  turn  aside  from  the  accustomed  associations 
which  so  often  are  centered  in  selfish  and  lim- 


COMMENCEMENT.  313 

ited  aims,  and  which,  when  eagerly  pursued, 
so  often  withdraw  us  from  a  wide  sympathy 
with  our  fellows,  and  revive  the  generous  as- 
pirations of  youth,  and  renew  the  cordial  fel- 
lowship which  is  the  distinctive  note  of  a 
liberal  culture.  It  is  easy  to  understand  the 
feeling  which  restrains  many,  especially  of  the 
older  graduates,  from  taking  part  in  this  an- 
nual academic  festivity.  The  thinned  ranks 
of  the  classes  that  close  the  procession  mingle 
a  bitter  drop  in  the  joy  with  which  the  sur- 
vivors greet  each  other.  Yet  we  cannot  but 
think  that  they  act  more  wisely  who  keep 
green  in  old  age  the  recollections  of  youth, 
and  who  once  a  year  make  themselves  young 
again  among  their  old  college  mates. 
• 
The  following  note  is  the  first  of  Mr.  Di- 
man's  in  the  correspondence  regarding  the 
course  of  Lowell  Institute  lectures  :  — 

TO    AUGUSTUS    LOWELL,    ESQ. 

Providence,  August  17,  1878. 
It  would  give  me  great  pleasure  to  accept 
your  invitation  to  deliver  a  course  of  lectures 
before  the  Lowell  Institute,  but  for  the  fact 
that  I  have  agreed  to  give  a  course  before  the 
Johns  Hopkins   University  of  Baltimore  be- 


314  MEMOIRS. 

fore  the  close  of  next  winter,  and  I  fear  that, 
with  my  other  duties,  it  would  be  impossible 
for  me  to  do  justice  to  both  engagements. 

TO    PRESIDENT    GILMAN. 

Providence,  October  2,  1878. 

I  find  that  the  month  of  April  will  suit  me 
better  than  any  other  time,  as  our  Spring 
recess  comes  then. 

I  propose  to  take  the  subject  which  I  men- 
tioned to  you,  "The  Thirty  Years'  War," 
but  shall  treat  it  very  broadly  in  its  relation 
to  general  European  history,  as  preparing  the 
way  for  the  state  system.  If  you  have  any 
suggestions  to  make  with  regard  to  the  sub- 
ject, or  the  manner  of  treatment,  I  beg  you 
will  make  them. 

A  busy  autumn  and  winter  followed.  If 
in  1875  Mr.  Diman  had  been  "  up  to  his 
eyes"  in  work  on  the  Thirty  Years'  War, 
this  winter  he  made  even  a  fuller  study  of  the 
subject.  All  the  French  and  German  author- 
ities were  consulted,  as  is  shown  in  the  an- 
nouncement of  his  lectures,  giving  a  list  of 
the  books  to  be  used  in  connection  with  them. 
The  private  classes  went  on  as  usual,  having 
lectures  on  English  history.     At  the  end  of 


LOWELL  INSTITUTE  LECTURES.       315 

the  winter  Mr.  Augustus  Lowell  wrote  again, 
proposing  a  course  of  Lowell  lectures  upon 
some  theme  connected  with  religion  and  mod- 
ern speculation.     In  reply,  Mr.  Diman  writes  : 

TO    AUGUSTUS    LOWELL,    ESQ. 

Providence,  March  3,  1879. 

It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  accept  the  in- 
vitation, which  you  have  kindly  renewed,  to 
lecture  before  the  Lowell  Institute  during  the 
coming1  season. 

With  regard,  however,  to  a  theme,  will  you 
allow  me  to  say  that  for  many  years  past  my 
attention  has  been  exclusively  directed  to  his- 
torical studies,  and  that  I  feel  much  better 
prepared  to  deal  with  an  historical  subject. 

Will  this  modification  of  your  suggestion 
meet  with  your  approval  ? 

Providence,  March  10,  1879. 
With  every  possible  disposition  to  yield  to 
your  preference,  I  still  cannot  resist  the  con- 
viction that  any  lectures  which  I  might  pre- 
pare would  derive  their  chief  value  from  the 
fact  that  I  was  dealing  with  a  familiar  sub- 
ject. For  some  time  past  I  have  been  giving 
my  attention  to  the  history  of  Europe  during 
the  Thirty  Years'  War,  a  period  which  the 


316  MEMOIRS. 

late  Mr.  Motley  meant  to  handle.  A  course 
upon  this  period  would  supplement  the  lec- 
tures upon  the  Reformation  given  a  few  years 
ago  by  Professor  Fisher.  I  have  collected  a 
considerable  amount  of  material  which  has 
never  been  presented  in  English,  and  if  I  took 
this  subject  I  could  rewrite  and  improve  what 
I  have  prepared  to  give  in  Baltimore. 

Should  you,  however,  deem  it  essential  that 
some  theme  should  be  selected  bearing  more 
directly  upon  religion,  I  would  suggest  "  The 
Relation  of  Christianity  to  Civil  Society ;  or, 
the  Spiritual  and  Temporal  Powers  in  their 
Historical  Development." 

But  I  fear  that  were  I  to  attempt  a  specific 
course  upon  either  Natural  or  Revealed  Reli- 
gion, I  should  simply  repeat  what  has  been 
better  said  by  others. 

TO    PRESIDENT    ANGELL. 

Providence,  March  24,  1879. 
I  have  had  a  very  busy  winter  getting  ready 
for  Baltimore,  and  preaching  a  good  deal  at 
King's  Chapel  in  Boston.  I  leave  for  Balti- 
more at  the  close  of  this  week,  not  without 
some  solicitude  as  to  my  success ;  for  I  have 
not  written  my  lectures  out,  but  shall  deliver 
them  from  my  full   briefs.      Of    course,  the 


BALTIMORE  LECTURES.  317 

success  will   depend  much   on  the  mode   of 
delivery. 

The  briefs  were  prepared  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  those  for  the  History  classes,  examples 
of  which  have  been  given,  but  were  fuller 
and  longer.  The  notes  for  each  lecture  cover 
from  ten  to  fifteen  foolscap  pages.  A  few 
sentences  at  the  beginning  and  end  are  written 
out  in  the  way  they  were  delivered,  but  the 
rest  of  the  lecture  is  only  suggested  by  heads 
of  subjects  and  disconnected  phrases.  No 
written  report  of  these  lectures  exists ;  and  as 
it  would  require  a  scholar  of  Mr.  Diman's  own 
research  and  attainment  to  write  them  from 
his  notes,  they  will  probably  remain  unwritten. 

"  The  subject  will  be  treated  throughout  in 
its  general  relation  to  European  history,  and 
as  marking  the  transition  from  ecclesiastical 
to  secular  politics,"  the  announcement  reads. 
The  topics  treated  are  :  "  The  general  causes 
of  the  struggle  as  connected  with  the  state  of 
Europe  ;  the  House  of  Austria  after  the  Ref- 
ormation ;  the  religious  parties  in  Germany  ; 
the  Evangelical  Union  ;  the  revolt  of  Bohe- 
mia ;  the  foreign  policy  of  James  I. ;  the  eon- 
version  of  a  Bohemian  into  a  German  ques- 
tion ;  the  military  system  of   Mansfield ;  the 


318  MEMOIRS. 

Danish  war ;  the  rise  of  Wallenstein ;  the 
connection  of  Sweden  with  German  politics  ; 
the  designs  of  Ferdinand  ;  the  career  of  Gus- 
tavus  Adolphns ;  the  relations  of  Spain  with 
the  Empire  ;  the  fall  of  Wallenstein  ;  the  pol- 
icy of  Richelieu  ;  the  social  condition  of  Ger- 
many during  the  late  years  of  the  war  ;  the 
peace  of  Westphalia,  in  its  relation  to  the 
Empire  and  the  state  system  of  Europe  ;  the 
general  results  of  the  struggle  in  their  bearing 
upon  German  unity  and  nationality."  Twenty 
lectures  there  were  in  all. 

President  Gilman,  writing  after  Mr.  Diman's 
death,  says :  "Among  the  many  visitors  brought 
here  by  the  Johns  Hopkins  University  during 
the  last  few  years,  I  do  not  think  there  is 
one  who  so  thoroughly  gained  the  affection- 
ate respect  of  our  community  as  he  did.  His 
catholicity  of  spirit,  his  nobility  of  character, 
his  wide  and  accurate  knowledge,  made  a 
strong  impression  on  all  who  heard  his  lec- 
tures, and  those  who  knew  him  privately  loved 
as  well  as  they  esteemed  him."  ...  Of  the 
lectures,  President  Gilman  says  :  "  He  seemed 
to  be  talking  to  a  company  of  friends  on  a 
subject  of  great  importance,  which  he  per- 
fectly understood,  with  an  unhesitating  com- 
mand not  only  of  names  and  dates,  but  of 


BALTIMORE  LECTURES.  319 

exact  epithets  and  discriminating  sentences. 
The  ease  with  which  he  lectured  under  cir- 
cumstances of  very  considerable  difficulty,  was 
only  equalled  by  the  instruction  and  pleasure 
he  gave  the  auditors." 

Mr.  Diman's  years  of  training  in  lecturing 
to  his  students,  to  his  private  classes,  and  on 
public  occasions,  of  course  stood  him  in  good 
stead  at  this  time  ;  but  of  his  special  prepara- 
tion for  these  lectures,  and  of  the  method  of 
delivering  them,  the  following  extracts  from 
letters  to  his  wife  give  some  account. 

TO    MRS.   DIMAN. 

Baltimore,  April  2,  1879. 

My  first  lecture  was  given  at  five  o'clock 
yesterday.  The  room  will  hold  comfortably 
two  hundred  and  fifty,  and  there  had  been 
four  hundred  applications  for  tickets.  All 
the  seats  were  taken  six  weeks  ago.  I  was 
not  in  first-rate  condition,  and  am  sure  I  can 
do  better  than  I  did.  But  I  spoke  wholly 
without  notes,  though  I  had  them  on  the 
desk.  The  audience  filled  the  room,  and  was 
very  attentive. 

April  5. 

As  I  have  got  a  little  used  to  the  room 
and  audience,  I  feel  more  at  ease,  and  find  no 


320  MEMOIRS. 

difficulty  in  getting  through  an  entire  lecture 
with  no  reference  to  my  notes.  I  am  now 
reaping  the  advantage  of  my  hard  work  dur- 
ing the  winter,  as  I  have  my  work  for  each 
day  already  marked  out.  But  the  method  I 
pursue  imposes  on  me  some  hard  study  each 
dav,  in  order  to  fill  my  mind  with  the  subject ; 
and  as  the  lecture  does  not  come  till  five 
o'clock,  the  day  is  fatiguing.  I  take  a  very 
liodit  dinner  at  one,  which  is  the  hour  at  this 
house,  and  then  a  cup  of  tea  at  half-past  four. 
So  I  manage  very  well. 

April  9. 

It  does  not  seem  to  me  that  I  do  as  well  as 
at  home,  for  the  room  is  now  crowded  to  over- 
flowing and  often  very  warm,  and  the  lecture 
comes  at  a  time  of  the  day  when  I  feel  less 
bright  than  at  any  other  ;  but  everybody  ex- 
presses great  satisfaction,  so  I  ought  to  feel 
content.  Yet  it  is  not  pleasant  not  to  be  doing 
one's  best. 

April  17. 

I  have  to  give  much  of  the  day  to  prepa- 
ration for  my  lecture.  First,  I  go  carefully 
over  what  I  have  written,  and  compare  it 
with  the  French  history  of  the  war  which  I 
brought  with  me  for  the  purpose,  and  which  is 
based  upon  the  same  authorities  that  I  used. 


BALTIMORE   LECTURES.  321 

In  this  way  I  see  whether  I  have  omitted  any- 
thing of  consequence.  Then  I  write  out  a 
condensed  analysis  of  the  lecture  on  the  first 
and  last  pages  of  my  manuscript,  which  I  left 
for  the  purpose.  This  I  carefully  commit  to 
memory,  studying  the  lecture  in  connection 
with  each  point.  By  doing  this  I  have  heen 
able  to  give  every  lecture  thus  far  without 
once  opening  my  manuscript.  When  people 
ask  me  how  it  is  that  I  do  it  so  easily,  they  do 
not  know  how  much  study  I  have  given  to  it. 
But  as  my  work  is  not  over  till  six  o'clock,  I 
feel  very  tired,  and  prefer  generally  to  stay  in, 
rather  than  go  out  of  an  evening. 

My  lectures  have  been  resumed  this  week 
(after  the  Good  Friday  recess),  with  no  sign 
of  any  abatement  of  interest.  Although  each 
day  thus  far  has  been  rainy,  the  room  has 
always  been  completely  filled. 

April  23. 

My  lectures  have  been  going  on  as  usual 
this  week,  with  no  lessening  of  the  attendance. 
It  must  be  confessed  it  is  a  pretty  hard  pull 
on  the  patience  of  an  audience  to  give  them 
twenty  lectures  on  the  same  subject. 

April  27. 

Yesterday  was  devoted  to  an  excursion  to 
Annapolis,  a  place    I  was  very  glad  to  see„ 


322  MEMOIRS 

The  town  itself  is  old  and  curious,  with  a  few 
stately  mansions,  memorials  of  colonial  days. 
The  only  drawback  was  the  heat,  which  dur- 
ing our  stay  at  Annapolis  was  very  oppressive. 

April  29. 

I  am  rapidly  closing  my  work,  and  hope 
very  soon  to  set  my  face  homewards.  This 
week  I  have  been  busy  making  farewell  calls  ; 
to-morrow  I  shall  give  my  last  lecture,  and 
Thursday  morning  I  hope  to  start  for  home. 

The  letters  are  also  filled  with  accounts  of 
the  many  delightful  social  gatherings,  which 
Mr.  Diman  enjoyed,  and  to  which  he  often 
referred  with  pleasure.  A  dinner  given  by 
Mr.  Reverdy  Johnson,  a  visit  to  the  Arch- 
bishop, and  the  meetings  with  many  interest- 
ing people,  are  fully  dwelt  upon. 

The  official  report  of  attendance  on  these 
lectures  gives  an  average  of  one  hundred  and 
ninety-two,  and  the  whole  number  of  over 
thirty-eight  hundred  persons  present.  Even 
on  the  very  rainy  days  a  hundred  and  thirty 
people  gathered,  and  on  two  days  of  rain  a 
hundred  and  ninety. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

1879— Feb.  3,  1881.     aet.  48-49  and  9  months. 

Normal  School  Lectures. —  Lowell  Institute  Lectures. —  Prep- 
aration for  them. —  Pressure  of  Work. —  Professor  Fisher's 
Opinion  of  the  Lectures.  —  Professor  Chace's  Opinion.  — 
Mr.  R.  Hazard  on  the  Book.  — Letter  to  President  Angell. 
— Letter  to  President  Gilman. —  Lectures  on  Constitutional 
History.  —  Trip  to  the  Maine  Woods.  —  Bi-Centennial 
Address  at  Bristol.  —  Political  Speech.  —  Lectures  on  the 
Nineteenth  Century.  —  Letters  to  President  Gilman.  — 
Last  Letter  to  President  Angell.  —  Lecture  on  Canning. 
—  Illness.  —  Death. 

No  sooner  had  Mr.  Dinian  returned  from 
Baltimore,  than  with  his  inexhaustible  energy 
he  plunged  into  fresh  work.  The  course  of 
five  Saturday  morning  lectures  at  the  Normal 
School,  beginning  May  17,  he  would  doubt- 
less still  have  spoken  of  as  "  simple  affairs." 
The  subject  was  American  History,  especially 
the  growth  and  alienation  of  the  Colonies,  and 
the  lectures  were  among  the  most  admirable 
he  ever  delivered,  embodying  his  latest  studies, 
and  being  presented  with  all  his  accustomed 
fullness  and  aptness  of  illustration.1 

1  See  Library  Journal,  Vol.  V.  p.  329.     Reference  List  on 
Special  Topics,  by  W.  E.  Foster. 


324  MEMOIRS. 

"  I  know  that  to  some  the  history  of  other 
lands  seems  more  attractive,"  Mr.  Diman  wrote 
in  1878.  "  In  the  picturesque  incidents  of 
the  Feudal  period,  in  the  splendid  epochs  of 
Monarchical  rule,  there  is  more  at  first  sight  to 
arrest  the  attention  and  stir  the  imagination. 
Compared  with  these,  our  own  annals  may- 
seem  tame  and  homely.  But  when  we  have 
outgrown  the  romantic  longings  of  youth,  we 
come  by  degrees  to  realize  that  no  portion  of 
history  better  deserves  our  attention  than  the 
chapters  which  recite  this  great  experiment  of 
self-government  in  the  New  World.  Rightly 
comprehended,  there  has  been  nothing  grander 
in  the  past,  and  there  is  nothing  with  which 
the  hopes  of  the  future  are  more  closely  linked. 
Nor  is  it  really  lacking  in  picturesque  inci- 
dent, and  in  the  highest  examples  of  virtue 
and  public  spirit.  To  become  thoroughly  im- 
bued with  the  temper  of  that  experiment,  to 
realize  intelligently  its  scope,  is  itself  an  edu- 
cation for  any  man.1  " 

The  summer  vacation  passed  quietly,  with 
short  trips  away  from  home.  The  autumn 
opened  with  unusual  pressure  of  work.  At 
an   interview  in   Boston  with   Mr.   Augustus 

1  Address  at  the  Dedication  of  the  Rogers  Free  Library  in 
Bristol. 


PREPARATION  FOR  LOWELL  LECTURES.     325 

Lowell,  some  time  after  the  date  of  the  letters 
in  the  previous  chapter,  Mr.  Diman  "  yielded 
to  my  urgent  request,"  writes  Mr.  Lowell, 
"  and  agreed  to  deliver  the  course  of  lectures 
upon  the  'Theistic  Argument  as  affected  by 
Recent  Theories.'  '  Though  the  subject  was 
not  that  pursued  during  his  life  as  college 
professor,  yet  it  was  one  in  which  he  was  pro- 
foundly interested,  and  to  which  he  came  with 
ample  preparation.  Twenty  years  before  he 
had  written  :  "  I  have  often  thought  that  of 
all  things  I  should  prefer  to  write  some  little 
work  connected  with  man's  highest  interests." 
These  "  highest  interests  "  he  had  ever  before 
him  in  all  his  teaching.  The  touch-stone  of 
moral  worth  was  applied  to  the  lessons  of 
History,  and  to  the  lives  of  men,  however 
brilliantly  they  were  described.  His  study  of 
philosophy,  and  constant  interest  in  philo- 
sophical topics,  prepared  him  to  deal  with  the 
questions  raised  ;  and  the  special  preparation 
needed  was  only  a  careful  review.  Though 
his  knowledge  of  modern  scientific  research 
and  speculation  was  accurate,  yet  for  these  lec- 
tures he  made  a  thorough  examination  of  all 
recent  works  on  the  subject.  "  In  particular," 
writes  Professor  George  P.  Fisher,  under  whose 
supervision  the  lectures  were  published,  "  the 


326  MEMOIRS. 

most  recent  writers,  such  as  Mill,  Spencer, 
Huxley,  Darwin,  Tyndall,  who  have  dealt 
directly  or  indirectly  with  these  topics  from 
points  of  view  more  or  less  at  variance  with 
prevalent  opinion,  he  examined  afresh.  At 
the  same  time  he  did  not  pass  by  the  ablest 
writers  in  defense  of  theism.  I  perceive  that 
he  had  profited  especially  by  the  perusal  of 
Janet's  thorough  treatise  on  '  Final  Causes,' 
and  Professor  Flint's  excellent  volumes  on 
Theism,  and  Anti-Theistic  Theories." 

For  the  first  time  Mr.  Diman  began  to  feel 
the  pressure  of  his  work.  His  usually  buoy- 
ant spirit  was  oppressed  by  the  weight  of  the 
arguments  brought  against  him.  Not  that  he 
ever  doubted  his  own  position,  or  failed  to  see 
the  ffoal  at  which  he  should  arrive.  But  the 
fairness  of  his  mind  allowed  him  to  pass  by 
no  obstacle  ;  each  must  be  fully  met,  and  hon- 
estly conquered.  And  it  was  to  some  degree 
a  new  line  of  thought  to  which  he  bent  his 
energies.  The  difficulties  of  the  problems,  he 
said,  he  had  not  fully  appreciated  when  he 
undertook  the  subject,  and  at  times  they  al- 
most overwhelmed  him.  There  were  no  morn- 
ing History  classes  this  winter,  and  but  one 
evening  class,  which  heard  ten  lectures  on  the 
Thirty  Years'  War.     All  Mr.  Diman's  time 


PRESSURE   OF   WORK.  327 

was  taken  up  with  the  engrossing  theme.  His 
habit  of  mind  was  so  elastic  that  he  did  not 
dread  interruption,  as  many  scholars  do.  In 
the  less  busy  days  of  his  early  professorship 
the  morning's  work  was  usually  broken  by  a 
visit  to  the  nursery  and  a  frolic  with  the  chil- 
dren. Even  now,  in  this  pressure  of  work, 
his  intimate  friends  were  admitted  to  his  study 
in  the  busy  morning  hours.  The  door  would 
open  into  the  pleasant  sunshiny  south  room, 
with  its  smouldering  wood  fire,  and  he  would 
rise  a  little  wearily  from  the  study-table  cov- 
ered with  books  and  manuscript.  "  It  goes 
slowly,"  he  would  say,  with  a  smile  and  a 
sigh.  Then  the  big  cat  would  be  ousted  from 
the  easy-chair,  where  she  dosed.  "  Here, 
puss,"  he  would  say,  reprovingly,  and  put 
her  gently  down,  or  sometimes  keep  her  on 
his  arm  a  moment.  His  visitor  seated  in  the 
chair  thus  vacated,  all  work  was  pushed  aside 
—  or  only  talked  of  for  that  visitor's  pleasure. 
Those  who  loved  him  naturally  claimed  but  a 
few  moments  in  such  a  morning,  and  left  the 
sunny  room  in  perfect  confidence  of  his  ulti- 
mately conquering  all  difficulties. 

How  fully  Mr.  Diman  did  so  is  expressed  in 
Professor  Fisher's  preface  to  the  book.  "  It 
is  marked  by  the  elevation  and  grace  which, 


328  MEMOIRS. 

as  they  were  part  and  parcel  of  the  author's 
mind,  could  not  fail  to  enter  into  all  the  pro- 
ductions of  his  pen.  The  discussion  is  con- 
ducted throughout  with  absolute  candor.  No- 
where is  there  an  attempt  to  forestall  the 
judgment  of  the  reader  by  raising  a  prejudice 
against  an  opinion  that  it  is  to  be  contro- 
verted. The  doctrines  and  the  reasonings  of 
adversaries  are  fully  and  even  forcibly  stated. 
Vituperation  is  never  substituted  for  evidence. 
Nothing  in  the  way  of  objection  that  deserves 
consideration  is  passed  by.  The  entire  field 
suggested  by  the  theme  is  traversed.  What- 
ever dissent  may  arise  in  the  reader's  mind  in 
reference  to  any  of  the  positions  which  are 
taken  by  Professor  Diman,  or  the  reasons  by 
which  they  are  maintained,  there  can  be,  as  I 
believe,  among  competent  judges  but  one 
opinion  as  to  the  acuteness  and  vigor,  as  well 
as  the  learning:  and  fairness  with  which  the 
argument  is  pursued." 

Professor  George  Ide  Chace,  Mr.  Diman's 
early  instructor  in  metaphysics  and  philoso- 
phy, among  the  very  last  acts  of  his  life 
wrote  :  — 

"  His  grasp  of  the  great  theme  is  as  com- 
prehensive as  it  is  vigorous.  His  thought 
flows  with  a  breadth  of  current  attesting  the 


THE   TH  El  STIC  ARGUMENT.  329 

amplitude  and  fullness  of  its  source.  As  the 
stream  moves  onward,  affluents  are  continually 
swelling  its  volume.  Everywhere  along  its 
course  evidences  of  a  fertile  and  abundantly 
watered  land  present  themselves.  With  him 
theology  has  no  barren  deserts.  Wherever 
his  foot  presses,  flowers  spring  up,  and  a  beau- 
tiful landscape  spreads  around.  His  way  lies 
through  a  continual  succession  of  oases.  His 
large  stores  of  knowledge,  his  rare  command 
of  language,  and  his  unequalled  power  of 
drawing  from  the  most  varied  sources  illustra- 
tions of  singular  aptness  and  beauty,  enable 
him  to  invest  every  step  of  his  great  argument 
with  a  marvelous  interest,  and  to  carry  the 
reader  along  with  him  a  willing  captive  to  the 
end. 

"  Some  of  the  positions  assumed  by  Mr. 
Diman  in  the  progress  of  the  discussion  will 
scarcely  bear  a  rigid  examination.  It  is  prob- 
able that  his  own  maturer  judgment  would 
have  led  him  to  modify  them.  The  marvel, 
however,  is  that  an  extended  course  of  lec- 
tures, on  a  subject  outside  of  his  special  de- 
partment of  instruction  in  the  University,  and 
involving  some  of  tli2  most  difficult  questions 
in  philosophy,  should  have  been  prepared  on 
so  brief  notice,  with  so  little  in  them  open  to 


330  MEMOIRS. 

just  and  fair  criticism.  Even  where  there  is 
error,  it  is  graced  by  so  much  beauty,  and  is 
so  instinct  with  right  feeling,  that  we  are 
ready  to  adopt  the  sentiment  of  the  great 
Roman  orator,  and  exclaim,  i  Errare,  meher- 
cule,  malo  cum  Platone,  quam  comistes,  vera 
sentire.'  " 

Professor  Chace,  it  will  be  noticed,  has  a 
slightly  different  estimate  of  some  of  the  con- 
clusions of  the  volume  from  that  of  Professor 
Fisher,  or  of  Mr.  Rowland  Hazard,  who  pre- 
pared a  careful  review  of  the  work  for  the 
Friday  Evening  Club. 

"  I  read  the  proofs,"  writes  Mr.  Hazard, 
"  as  it  was  passing  through  the  press,  and  as 
I  read  I  seemed  to  hear  his  voice  in  the  ca- 
dence of  the  sentences.  I  have  read  the  book 
again  ;  I  have  studied  it ;  and  I  am  more  and 
more  impressed  with  the  strong  logic,  the 
great  ability  with  which  the  argument  is  pre- 
sented, and  the  flow,  the  rhythm,  the  eloquence 
of  the  style.  The  personality  of  the  author 
has  impressed  itself  upon  the  printed  page, 
and  I  lay  down  the  book  with  regret,  unwill- 
ing to  quit  his  presence.   .  .   . 

"  Within  the  present  century  a  great  change 
has  taken  place  in  the  method  of  dealing  with 


THE    THE  I  STIC  ARGUMENT.  331 

the  questions  here  discussed.  What  was  for- 
merly approached  from  the  metaphysical  side 
is  now  regarded  from  the  physical  or  mate- 
rial. Problems  which  the  older  philosophy 
grappled  with  the  aid  of  pure  reason  are  now 
sought  to  be  solved  in  the  laboratory  of  the 
chemist.  So  great  has  been  the  change  in  the 
current  of  philosophic  thought  that  the  old 
land-marks  of  belief  have  appeared  to  be  in 
danger  of  being  swept  entirely  away.  The 
alarm  has  been  general  and  widespread.  The 
position  of  the  advocates  of  the  new  philoso- 
phy has  been  too  frequently  misunderstood, 
and  the  unauthorized  utterances  of  a  few  un- 
balanced ultraists  have  been  taken  for  the 
teachings  of  a  school.  As  a  consequence,  the 
impression  has  become  general  that  the  tend- 
ency of  modern  science  is  toward  infidelity, 
toward  the  unsettling  of  the  most  venerated 
beliefs  which  have  come  down  to  us  through 
the  ages.  The  holders  of  these  beliefs,  thus 
suddenly  attacked  with  strange  weapons,  have 
been  thrown  into  confusion,  and  in  their  eager- 
ness to  repel  the  assault  they  have  frequently 
wounded  their  friends. 

"  From  time  to  time  some  cooler  spirit  has 
examined  with  care  the  armory  of  this  new 
school  of  philosophy,  and  has  pointed  out  the 


332  MEMOIRS. 

harmlessness  of  the  weapons  which  have  cre- 
ated the  greatest  consternation.  But  the 
books  containing  the  results  of  such  examina- 
tions have  been  for  the  most  part  adapted  to 
the  use  of  scholars.  They  have  been  too  ab- 
stract for  the  general  reader.  Without  any 
disparagement  to  such  valuable  works  as 
Janet's  '  Final  Causes/  Flint's  'Theism' 
and  '  Anti-Theistic  Theories/  and  Herbert's 
'  Realism  Examined/  I  think  it  safe  to  say 
that  a  book  was  needed  which  should  bring 
the  subject  within  the  reach  of  any  reader  of 
common  intelligence.  This  need  has  been  sup- 
plied by  the  work  of  Professor  Diman.  It 
has  been  supplied  in  a  most  admirable  manner. 
It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  there  is  no  book 
in  the  English  language  which  contains  in  so 
small  a  compass,  and  so  agreeable  a  style,  such 
an  accurate  and  candid  statement  of  the 
course  of  human  thought  on  the  great  ques- 
tion of  the  existence  of  God.  This  alone 
would  be  high  praise ;  but  when  it  must  be 
added  that  the  book  also  contains  a  most 
forcible  and  logical  presentation  of  the  Theis- 
tic  argument,  unfolded,  as  it  were,  from  this 
history  of  human  thought,  in  eloquent  and  de- 
lightful diction,  it  seems  to  me  that  we  have 
a  book  of  no  common  order." 


LOWELL  INSTITUTE  LECTURES.       333 

The  lectures  were  twelve  in  number,  and 
were  finished  by  the  end  of  February.  The 
fourth  of  the  course,  on  "  The  Argument  from 
Order,"  was  read  before  the  Friday  Evening 
Club  in  November.  They  were  delivered  in 
Huntington  Hall,  Boston,  beginning  on  Tues- 
day evening,  February  24,  1880,  and  continu- 
ing Tuesday  and  Friday  evenings  until  the 
conclusion  of  the  course.  As  they  began  at 
half-past  seven  o'clock,  Mr.  Diman  went  to 
Boston  in  the  afternoon,  returning  to  Provi- 
dence after  the  lecture,  and  gave  his  usual 
college  lecture  at  half-past  nine  the  next 
morning. 

He  did  his  work  with  such  ease,  and  made 
so  light  of  it  himself,  that  the  accomplishment 
of  all  this  did  not  at  the  time  seem  remarkable 
to  his  friends.  But  the  strain  was  beginning 
to  tell  upon  him.  In  reply  to  an  invitation 
to  deliver  an  oration  before  the  University  of 
Michigan,  he  wrote  :  — 

TO    PRESIDENT    ANGELL. 

Providence,  March  10,  1880. 

I  have  delayed  longer  than  I  should  have 

done  to  answer  your  letter,  hoping  to  see  my 

way  clear  to  accept  an  invitation  which  would 

give  me  so  pleasant  an  opportunity  both  of 


334  MEMOIRS. 

visiting  you  and  of  seeing  your  great  Univer- 
sity ;  but  there  are  some  indications  which 
seem  to  render  it  advisable  to  give  up  extra 
work  for  the  present,  and  as  I  have  an  engage- 
ment already  on  my  hands,  I  had  come  to  the 
conclusion  to  write  you,  and  decline  the  invi- 
tation. 

How  fully  Mr.  Diman  gave  his  sympathy  to 
his  friends  is  shown  from  the  fact,  that,  al- 
though the  night  before  this  letter  was  writ- 
ten  he  had  delivered  the  fifth  in  his  course  of 
lectures,  there  is  not  a  word  of  his  own  work, 
but  the  rest  of  the  letter  is  filled  with  con° 
gratulations  and  inquiries  concerning  the  ap- 
pointment as  Minister  to  China  his  friend  had 
just  received. 

The  Lowell  lectures  ended  March  30,  and 
in  April  and  May  a  course  of  six  lectures  was 
given  on  the  same  subject  to  the  Friday  morn- 
ing History  class,  in  Mrs.  Goddard's  parlors. 
In  these  six  lectures  Mr.  Diman  put  the  sub- 
stance of  the  whole  course,  freeing  the  theme 
from  all  possible  technicalities,  and  presenting 
the  subject  in  the  simplest  and  yet  most  com- 
prehensive manner. 

In  May  and  June  Mr.  Diman  delivered  to 
the  Normal  School  a  course  of  five  lectures  on 


CONSTITUTIONAL  HISTORY.  335 

the  Constitutional  History  of  the  United  States, 
—  a  continuation  of  the  subject  of  the  previous 
year.  These  lectures  are  considered  by  com- 
petent judges  the  most  remarkable  Mr.  Diman 
ever  delivered. 

His  practice  of  using  only  the  briefest  notes, 
which  made  his  lectures  so  effective,  and  made 
each  listener  feel  he  was  directly  spoken  to, 
is  now  our  loss,  for  it  is  impossible  to  repro- 
duce them.  Some  idea  of  their  wide  scope, 
and  the  general  treatment  of  the  theme,  may 
be  gained  from  Mr.  W.  E.  Foster's  admirable 
list  of  references,  prepared  to  accompany  the 
lectures.1 

TO    PRESIDENT    GILMAN. 

Providence,  April  29,  1880. 
It  will  give  me  great  pleasure  to  accept 
the  invitation  which  you  have  extended  to  me, 
to  repeat  my  recent  Lowell  lectures  at  the 
Johns  Hopkins  University.  I  think,  consider- 
ing the  subject,  it  would  be  advisable  to  re- 
duce the  course  to  ten  lectures,  and  I  should 
prefer,  if  possible,  to  come  as  before,  at  the 
time  of  our  spring  recess. 

1  Economic  Tracts  Xo.  II.,  series  of  1880-81  :  Political 
Economy  and  Political  Science  •  The  United  States  Constitu- 
tion, p.  24. 


336  MEMOIRS. 

Warned  by  symptoms  of  fatigue  that  a 
complete  change  was  necessary  during  the  va- 
cation, after  one  or  two  short  visits,  Mr.  Di- 
man  joined  his  friends,  Rev.  J.  0.  Murray  and 
Mr.  Rowland  Hazard,  in  a  stay  in  the  Maine 
woods.  From  there  they  wrote  to  the  fourth 
friend,  who  usually  completed  their  party. 

TO    HONORABLE    JAMES    B.    ANGELL,    PEKING, 
CHINA. 

Rangeley  Lakes,  > 

Camp  Kennebago,  August  15,  1880.  > 

May  it  please  your  Excellency  :  Here  we 
are,  the  old  party,  saving  yourself,  and  as  we 
are  debarred  by  the  laws  of  God  from  fishing 
to-day,  we  could  think  of  nothing  better  than 
writing  to  you.  I  might  add,  that  as  the  laws 
of  Maine  forbid  our  fishing  on  all  other  days 
in  any  place  where  trout  are  likely  to  be  found, 
we  might  just  as  well  spend  the  remaining 
days  of  the  week  in  literary  employment.- 
Yesterday  we  were   coming  across  the  lake, 

when  we  fell  in  with  Dr.  M ,  the  one  who 

was  so  eminent  as  a  surgeon.  We  asked  what 
luck  he  had  found,  and  he  replied  with  con- 
siderable emphasis  :  "  Two  days,  and  not  a 
darned  bite."  This  is  a  pretty  fair  description 
of  sport  in  these  famous  fishing   grounds  dui- 


TROUT  FISHING.  337 

ing  the  month  of  August.     R and  F 

fished  two  days  with  no  success.  After  Mur- 
ray and  I  came,  the  luck  began.  I  have  taken 
the  largest  fish  thus  far.     We  had  no  scales 

to  weigh  him,  but  fortunately  R sat  in 

the  stern,  so  the  boat  was  not  dragged  under. 
Yesterday  we  caught  fifteen  fish,  and  also  a 
good  drenching.  The  latter  was  more  equally 
distributed  through  the  party  than  the  former, 
as  I  took  no  fish,  but  considerable  water.  .  .  . 
We  are  having  a  capital  time,  and  as  we  gather 
at  night  about  our  blazing  fire  of  logs,  we 
think  much  of  you  and  of  the  pleasant  days 
of  old.  If  good  wishes  would  assure  success, 
you  will  not  fail. 

REV.    J.    O.    MURRAY    TO    PRESIDENT    ANGELL. 

Camp  Kennebago,  August  15,  1880. 

Diman,  by  some  hocus-pocus,  managed  to 
hook  a  trout  on  Friday.  I  saw  him  the  mo- 
ment before  he  did  it.  He  was  much  more 
surprised  than  the  trout.  But  since  then  he 
has  been  talking  often  of  the  Apostles.  He 
seems  to  think  he  is  lineally  descended  from 
one  of  them.  He  has  put  on  airs.  Hazard  has 
done  his  best  to  tone  him  down.  So  have  I. 
All  in  vain.  If  you  were  out  here,  I  should 
have  some  hopes ;  as  it  is,  all  we  could  do  was 


338  MEMOIRS. 

to  eat  his  trout  and  take  him  yesterday  on  a 
wet  expedition.     But  we  must  give  him  up. 

The  trout  here  disdain  flies.  As  Lewis 
phrases  it,  vermicular  fishing  is  what  succeeds. 
So  if  you  can  get  any  hints  on  that  subject 
from  the  Chinese  fishermen,  send  them  on  to 
us.  I  read  aloud  to  Hazard  and  Diman  to- 
day Renan's  lecture  on  Marcus  Aurelius.  I 
thought  the  old  Roman's  splendid  patience 
and  submission  to  the  inevitable  would  pre- 
pare them  for  fishermen's  luck  to-morrow. 

Refreshed  by  the  summer's  rest,  Mr.  Diman 
returned  to  his  work  with  all  his  accustomed 
vigor.  The  engagement  on  his  hands  to  which 
he  referred  was  the  oration  at  the  Bi-Centen- 
nial  Celebration  of  the  Settlement  of  Mount 
Hope.  This  was  delivered  September  24th, 
and  was  one  of  his  most  successful  addresses. 
It  was  given  entirely  without  notes,  with  an 
eloquence  and  dignity  that  delighted  his 
hearers.1 

Four  days  after  this  oration,  Mr.  Diman  ad- 
dressed a  ward  meeting  in  Providence.  It 
was  in  the  days  of  the  Garfield  and  Hancock 
campaign.  His  speech  was  reported  in  full, 
and    excited    universal    attention    throughout 

1  Orations  and  Essays. 


POLITICAL  DUTY.  339 

the  State.  The  "  Scholar  in  Politics  "  he  was 
called.  The  opening  of  the  address  is  of 
more  than  transient  interest,  marking,  as  it 
does,  Mr.  Diman's  convictions  of  political  duty. 

"  I  am  not  here  to-night  simply  in  response 
to  a  courteous  invitation,  but  I  am  here  in 
obedience  to  my  own  sincere  and  deep  con- 
viction of  duty.  Those  of  you  who  have 
known  me  in  other  relations  —  some  of  you 
as  a  teacher  —  will  no  doubt  remember  that  I 
have  always  insisted  on  the  paramount  duty 
of  every  citizen  in  a  free  State  to  take  a  per- 
sonal share  in  political  affairs.  I  hold  that 
no  man,  no  matter  how  high  his  position,  no 
matter  what  his  official  or  personal  relations, 
can  count  himself  released  from  this  sacred 
responsibility.  We  are  here  as  members  of  a 
great  and  common  country.  We  are  all  of  us 
charged  with  duties,  as  citizens  of  a  free 
State,  than  which  no  duties  in  this  life  can 
be  more  responsible  and  more  sacred.  I  hold 
that  no  man  has  a  right  to  lay  these  duties 
aside.  Let  us  remember  that  this  government 
under  which  we  live,  which  we  have  vowed  to 
support,  and  of  which  we  are  so  justly  proud, 
is  a  government  of  public  opinion.  The  gov- 
erning power  here  is  the  public  sentiment  of 


340  MEMOIRS. 

the  nation.  There  is  no  power  behind  this,  and 
there  can  be  none.  The  seat  of  our  govern- 
ment is  not  that  majestic  building  whose  dome 
rises  above  the  Capitol  of  our  country,  an  ob- 
ject of  admiration  from  afar.  There  is  simply 
carried  out  the  administrative  business  of  the 
nation.  The  real  governing  power  is  not 
there,  but  here.  It  is  in  assemblages  just  like 
this, — assemblages  of  intelligent  freemen,  met 
for  free  discussion,  met  to  influence  each  other 
.by  rational  argument.  Here  we  found  the 
foundation  and  the  safeguard  of  our  whole 
national  system.  I  say  we  are  a  government 
of  public  opinion,  and  in  public  opinion  the 
only  power  that  ought  to  prevail  is  the  power 
of  reason  and  of  argument ;  and  I  am  proud 
to-night  to  stand  before  an  assembly  which 
acknowledges  no  other  control  and  no  other 
influence  than  these.  And  I  hold,  that  in  a 
crisis  like  this,  and  with  regard  to  questions 
like  those  that  bring  us  here  to-night,  every 
one  of  us  is  bound  to  have  an  opinion." 

Then  followed  a  strong  denunciation  of 
"  that  wicked,  pernicious,  and  damnable  doc- 
trine introduced  by  Andrew  Jackson,  that  '  to 
the  victors  belong  the  spoils,'  "  and  a  clear 
discussion  of  the  issues  of  the  campaign. 


REVISION   OF  LOWELL  LECTURES.     341 

TO    PRESIDENT    GILMAN. 

Providence,  October  23,  1880. 
.  .  .  Our  recess  next  spring  will  begin  on 
Saturday,  March  26th.  Can  you  let  me  begin 
on  Monday  the  28th,  and  occupy  the  two  fol- 
lowing weeks  ?  There  will  be,  you  remember, 
but  ten  lectures. 

TO    PRESIDENT    GILMAN. 

Providence,  December  3,  1880. 
I  inclose  a  list  of  the  topics  included  in  my 
lectures.  It  is  a  source  of  sincere  regret  to 
me  that  I  cannot  arrange  to  sfive  them  earlier 
in  the  season,  but  my  engagements  here  are  of 
such  a  nature  that  I  feel  compelled  to  reduce 
my  period  of  absence  to  the  least  possible 
limit. 

The  list  of  lectures  sent  with  this  note  omits 
the  second  and  eleventh  of  the  Lowell  lectures, 
on  the  Relativity  of  Knowledge,  and  The  Al- 
ternative Theories. 

The  lectures  to  the  ladies'  classes,  of  which 
two  were  formed,  began  on  the  seventh  of 
December.  The  course  was  to  be  on  the  Nine- 
teenth Century.  The  reasons  for  studying  it 
Mr.  Diman's  notes  give  :  —  "It  is  the  comple- 


342  MEMOIRS. 

tion  of  our  course  from  the  outset,  —  a  ten 
years'  course,  which  began  with  the  dawn  of 
Modern  History.  We  have  traced  its  great 
phases,  and  now  come  to  its  last  results.  What 
does  it  teach  ?  The  knowledge  of  our  own 
age  is  the  most  important.  We  must  study 
the  past  to  comprehend  the  present.  This  is 
its  highest  use.  The  present  can  only  be  un- 
derstood by  showing  its  whole  growth,  for  the 
present  is  the  product  of  the  past. 

"  We  shall  not  make  a  detailed  study  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  but  select  its  salient  points 
in  its  chief  aspects,  politically  and  intellect- 
ually. We  shall  also  study  its  leading  men, 
—  the  statesmen  who  have  played  a  creative 
part,  and  the  thinkers.  There  are  two  diffi- 
culties in  studying  our  own  age  :  its  complex- 
ity and  the  lack  of  perspective.  Three  ques- 
tions must  be  asked :  What  is  evolution  in 
History  ?  Is  there  progress  in  History  ?  Is 
this  progress  moral  ?  Man's  whole  nature  is 
involved.  Human  Destiny  is  the  great  lesson 
of  History.  The  nineteenth  century  gives 
the  last  answer  to  this  problem." 

The  lecture  continued  with  a  survey  of  Eu- 
rope at  the  time  of  Napoleon's  appearance. 
His  career  was  traced  in  subsequent  lectures, 
his  overthrow,  and  the  regeneration  of  Prussia 


NINETEENTH  CENTURY  LECTURES.     343 

through  the  agency  of  Stein.  Metternich,  and 
the  Congress  of  Vienna ;  Talleyrand,  and  the 
Restoration ;  Alexander  I.,  and  the  Holy  Al- 
liance, had  each  a  lecture  devoted  to  them. 
The  notes  for  these  lectures  are  unusually 
full.  The  complexity  of  the  subject  seemed 
only  to  stimulate  Mr.  Diman's  powers.  The 
reaction  and  interdependence  of  the  various 
political  movements  were  shown,  so  that  his 
hearers  received  a  clear  idea  of  the  whole  pro- 
gress of  Europe. 

In  spite  of  the  summer's  rest,  and  the  ap- 
parent renewal  of  perfect  health,  those  who 
knew  Mr.  Diman  best  thought  him  looking 
not  quite  well,  and  his  work  dragged  a  little 
upon  him.  But  so  great  was  his  buoyancy 
of  spirit,  he  proceeded  to  new  duties,  as  the 
following  letter  shows.  The  two  Lowell  lec- 
tures delivered  in  Manning  Hall  many  will 
remember. 

TO    PRESIDENT    ANGELL,    PEKING,    CHINA. 

Providence,  January  19,  1881. 

It  is  hard  to  think  of  you  so  far  away  in 
Peking,  especially  when  I  recall  the  years, 
that  now  seem  so  far  back,  of  our  college  life, 
when  you  and  Murray,  and  R.  and  I,  were  all 
dreaming  of  the  future  together  in  Univer- 


344  MEMOIRS. 

sity  Hall.  Whatever  high  hopes  we  may  have 
had,  I  do  not  think  it  entered  the  thoughts 
of  any  one  of  us  that  you  would  one  day 
negotiate  a  treaty  with  the  Emperor  of  China. 

The  season  has  passed  thus  far  very  quietly 
with  us.  ...  I  have  had  nothing  to  break  my 
own  routine  save  the  celebration  at  Bristol, 
which  was  conceived  and  carried  out  in  admi- 
rable style.  I  think  I  have  now  done  quite 
enough  of  local  celebrating,  and  propose  to 
leave  it  alone  for  the  future.  In  my  college 
work  I  have  had  a  little  change  in  an  elective 
class  in  Roman  law.  I  gave  the  subject  a 
broader  treatment  than  Woolsey,  and  became 
much  interested  in  the  study.  A  new  depart- 
ure at  college  has  been  a  course  of  evening 
lectures  by  the  professors,  which  have  been 
well  attended  by  ladies  and  gentlemen,  and 
have  been  very  well  received.  I  gave  two  of 
my  Lowell  lectures.  I  am  to  repeat  the  whole 
course  in  Baltimore  in  April. 

I  have  been  busy  with  reading,  but  have 
come  across  no  book  of  exceptional  interest. 
I  have  my  ladies'  classes  as  usual,  and  am  busy 
with  the  history  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

January  28th  Mr.  Diman  gave  a  lecture  to 
the  ladies  on  the  attitude  of  England,  which 


LAST  LECTURE.  345 

had  acted  with  Austria  and  Russia,  but  now 
through  the  influence  of  one  statesman  inau- 
gurated a  more  liberal  policy.  How  the  class 
were  made  to  sympathize  in  the  wide  views  of 
Canning,  with  his  generous  aid  to  Portugal, 
and  cordial  recognition  of  the  South  American 
States  !  And  how  brilliantly  did  Mr.  Diman 
describe  Canning's  wit,  the  amiability  of  his 
private  life,  his  devotion  to  his  mother,  and 
with  what  feeling  dwell  on  his  premature 
death,  in  the  midst  of  his  brilliant  career  ! 
Who  among  his  listeners  could  imagine  that 
so  kindred  a  fate  awaited  Mr.  Diman  himself  ? 
At  the  time  of  delivering  the  lecture  he  was 
suffering  severe  pain,  and  returned  home  im- 
mediately after,  never  to  leave  his  house  again. 
That  same  evening  the  Friday  Evening  Club 
met  with  him.  With  his  accustomed  self-for- 
getfulness  he  ignored  his  own  suffering,  so 
that  all,  except  the  few  members  who  knew 
him  best,  thought  him  as  well  and  brilliant  as 
ever.  The  next  day  he  was  not  able  to  leave 
the  house,  though  no  alarm  was  felt  till  the 
following  Tuesday,  when  what  was  at  first 
considered  trifling  developed  alarming  symp- 
toms. Anxious  inquiries  were  constantly 
made  for  him.  On  Thursday  afternoon,  Feb- 
ruary 3d,  his  Senior  class  sent  him  flowers, 


346  MEMOIRS. 

which  he  was  able  to  receive  with  pleasure, 
though  they  learned  he  was  very  ill.  A  couple 
of  hours  after,  while  the  dusky  red  of  the 
winter  sunset  was  still  in  the  sky,  word  came 
that  he  was  dead. 

Friends  gathered  from  far  and  near  early  in 
the  following  week,  to  pay  a  last  tribute  of 
affection.  The  best  and  wisest  in  the  city  and 
State,  and  from  other  cities  and  States,  came 
to  honor  him. 

In  the  House  of  Representatives,  on  Mon- 
day, February  7th,  Mr.  Sheffield  of  Newport 
made  mention  of  the  great  loss  the  city  and 
State  had  sustained,  and  moved  the  adjourn- 
ment of  the  House  to  attend  his  funeral.  Other 
gentlemen  followed,  bearing  testimony  to  his 
worth.  The  speaker,  Mr.  Henry  J.  Spooner, 
said  :  "  His  life  and  his  labors  were  largely 
devoted  to  the  advancement  of  many  of  our 
most  important  public  interests,  and  nearly 
allied  to  the  public  weal.  The  motion  before 
the  House  seems  an  appropriate  recognition  of 
our  appreciation  of  the  loss  to  the  State." 
The  House  then  adjourned,  —  a  most  unusual, 
if  not  unprecedented,  occurrence  in  the  case 
of  a  private  citizen. 

The  beautiful  service  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  was  the  only  one  used,  and  the  pall- 


DEATH.  347 

bearers  were  selected  from  the  Senior  class 
which  so  lately  had  heard  him  lecture.  Under 
a  peaceful  sky  and  the  pure  snows  of  winter, 
all  that  was  mortal  was  laid  to  rest  in  Swan 
Point  Cemetery. 

Few  have  been  so  deeply  loved,  or  so  heart- 
ily and  widely  mourned.  How  true  are  his 
own  words,  written  of  one  who  was  dear  to 
him :  "  Our  only  consolation  is  in  the  thought 
that  the  life  which  to  our  blinded  vision 
seems  so  suddenly  blasted,  in  the  sight  of  God 
was  ripened  and  complete." 


A  stately  ship  sailed  brave  and  free 
Upon  the  sparkling  summer  sea, 
The  light  winds  blew  caressingly. 

The  same  winds  blew  a  summer  cloud, 
Soft,  white,  and  warm,  a  lovely  shroud 
Enfolding  waves  that  icere  too  proud. 

On  came  the  ship,  the  cloud  she  cleft, 
It  parted  ;  then  like  one  bereft, 
Closed  over  all,  no  sea  was  left. 

A  moment  still  the  spotless  sails 

Are  bright  with  sunshine  ;  naught  avails, 

She  hastens  on,  till  all  sight  fails. 

Gone,  gone  !   we  say,  and  draw  a  sigh. 
What,  gone  ?  my  spirit  makes  reply, 
Because  we  see  not,  you  and  If 

Who  knows  her  new  and  vast  expanse 
Of  sunlit  sea,  where  wavelets  dance, 
And  stars  are  aiding  her  advance. 

If  we  but  see  icith  eyes  of  faith, 
If  toe  could  hear,  the  Spirit  saith  — 
The  sea  is  Life,  the  cloud  is  Death. 


LIST  OF  PUBLICATIONS. 

The  Theistic  Argument  as  affected  by  Recent  Theo- 
ries. A  course  of  lectures  delivered  at  the  Lowell  In- 
stitute in  Boston.     Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.     1881. 

Orations  and  Essays,  with  selected  Parish  Sermons. 
Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.    1882. 

Orations  and  Essays  :  The  Alienation  of  the  Educated 
Class    from   Politics.      The   Method  of  Academic 
Culture.     Address  at  the  Unveiling  of  the  Monu- 
ment to  Roger  Williams.    The  Settlement  of  Mount 
Hope.      Sir  Harry  Vane.      Religion  in  America, 
North  American  Review,  January,  1876.     Univer- 
sity Corporations,  Baptist  Quarterly,  October,  1869. 
Sermons :  The  Son   of   Man.     Christ,  the  Way,  the 
Truth,   and  the   Life.     Christ  the  Bread  of   Life. 
Christ   in  the  Power  of    His  Resurrection.      The 
Holy  Spirit  the  Guide  to  Truth.     The  Baptism  of 
the   Holy  Ghost.     The   Kingdom   of  Heaven,  and 
the  Kingdom  of  Nature. 
Dr.  Grant  and  the  Mountain  Nestorians.     New  Eng- 
lander,    August,    1853.      Early    Christianity  in    China. 
New  Englander,  November,  1853. 

Review  of  "  The  Signs  of  the  Times,"  by  Baron  Bun- 
sen.     Bibliotheca  Sacra.     April,  1856. 

Life  through  Death.  A  Sermon.  Monthly  Religious 
Magazine.     January,  1861. 

Father,  Son,  and   Holy   Ghost.     Doctrine  unto   Life. 


350  LIST  OF  PUBLICATIONS. 

A  Sermon,  in  the  Monthly  Religious  Magazine.  Sep- 
tember, 1863. 

Follow  Me.  A  Sermon.  Monthly  Religious  Magazine. 
March,  1864. 

The  Nation  and  the  Constitution.  An  Oration  before 
the  City  Authorities  of  Providence.     July  4,  1866. 

Master  John  Cotton's  Answer  to  Master  Roger  Wil- 
liams. Edited  by  J.  L.  Diman.  March,  1867.  Publi- 
cations of  the  Narragansett  Club.     Vol.  II. 

The  Christian  Scholar.  A  Discourse  in  Commemora- 
tion of  the  Rev.  Robinson  Potter  Dunn,  Professor  of 
Rhetoric  and  English  Literature.  Delivered  at  the  re- 
quest of  the  Faculty,  in  the  Chapel  of  Brown  University, 
October  16,  1867. 

The  Late  President  Wayland.  Atlantic  Monthly. 
January,  1868. 

The  Method  of  Academic  Culture.  An  Oration  before 
the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society,  at  Amherst  College,  July 
6,  1869.  Published  in  the  New  Englander,  October, 
1869.     (Orations  and  Essays.) 

De  Costa.  Discovery  of  America.  North  American 
Review.     Vol.  109.     July,  1869. 

University  Corporations.  Baptist  Quarterly.  October, 
1869.     (Orations  and  Essays.) 

The  Historical  Basis  of  Belief.  A  lecture  in  the 
Boston  Lectures  on  Christianity  and  Scepticism.  Bap- 
tist Quarterly.     April,  1870. 

English  School  Life.  American  Quarterly  Church 
Review.     October,  1871. 

The  Roman  Element  in  Modern  Civilization.  New 
Englander.     January,  1872. 

Meline's  Mary  Queen  of  Scots.  North  American  Re- 
view.    Vol.  114.     January,  1872. 

George   Fox  Digg'd  out  of    his  Burrowes.      Edited 


LIST  OF  PUBLICATIONS.  351 

by  J.  L.  Diman.  1872.  Publications  of  the  Narragan- 
sett  Club.     Vol.  V. 

Fisher's  The  Reformation.  North  American  Review. 
Vol.  116.     April,  1873. 

Motley's  John  of  Barneveld.  North  American  Re- 
view.    Vol.  119.     October,  1874. 

Bancroft's  Native  Races  of  the  Pacific  Coast.  North 
Amei'ican  Review.     Vol.  121.    October,  1875. 

Religion  in  America.  North  American  Review.  Vol. 
122.     January,  1876.     (Orations  and  Essays.) 

The  Alienation  of  the  Educated  Class  from  Politics. 
An  Oration  before  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society,  at  Cam- 
bridge, June  29, 1876.     (Orations  and  Essays.) 

The  Capture  of  General  Prescott  by  Lieutenant-Col- 
onel William  Barton.  An  Address  delivered  at  the 
Centennial  Celebration  of  the  Exploit  at  Portsmouth, 
Rhode  Island,  July  10,  1877.  Published,  with  notes,  as 
No.  1  of  Rider's  Rhode  Island  Historical  Tracts. 

Address  at  the  Unveiling  of  the  Monument  to  Roger 
Williams  erected  by  the  City  of  Providence,  October 
16,  1877.     (Orations  and  Essays.) 

Address  at  the  Dedication  of  the  Rogers  Free  Library 
in  Bristol,  Rhode  Island,  January  12,  1878.  Provi- 
dence :  Sidney  S.  Rider. 

Dr.  Woolsey's  Political  Science.  New  Englander. 
May,  1878. 

The  Settlement  of  Mount  Hope.  An  Address.  Sep- 
tember 24,  1880.      (Orations  and  Essays.) 

LIST    OF   ARTICLES   PUBLISHED   IX  THE    "NATION." 

July  16,  1877.     No.  633.     Baptists  and  Quakers. 
May  23,  1878.     No.  673.     Masson's  Milton.     Vols. 
IV.  and  V. 


352  LIST   OF  PUBLICATIONS. 

June  27,  1878.  No.  678.  Bauer's  Einfluss  des  Eng- 
lischen  Quakerthums  auf  die  Deutsche  Cultur. 

March  6,  1879.    No.  714.     Mozley's  Essays. 

July  24,  1879.     No.  734.     Gladstone's  Gleanings. 

June  24,  1880.  No.  782.  Fisher's  Historical  Dis- 
cussions. 

Sept.  16,  1880.  No.  794.  Dexter's  Congregation- 
alism. 

Nov.  11,  1880.     No.  802.    Crawfurd's  Portugal. 

Dec.  9,  1880.  No.  806.  Hillebrand's  German 
Thought. 

Feb.  3,  1881.     No.  814.     Note  on  the  Wampanoags. 

UNPUBLISHED   "  CLUB   PAPERS." 

April  24,  1868.     The  Representation  of  Minorities. 

April  19,  1872.  The  Position  of  Albrecht  Diirer  as 
an  Artist. 

Nov.  7,  1873.     Saracenic  Architecture  in  Spain. 

Nov.  6,  1874.     Spanish  Artists. 

Nov.  3,  1876.  The  Relation  of  the  Ottoman  Power 
to  European  Politics. 

Dec.  21,  1877.  Phases  of  Political  Thought  in 
America. 


INDEX. 


Abbotsford,  106. 

Abhorrence  of  vulgarity,  227. 

Academic  duties,  199. 

Accepts  invitation  to  lecture  at  Balti- 
more, 310;  to  lecture  before  the 
Lowell  Institute,  315. 

Address  at  opening  of  Rogers  Free 
Library,  311 ;  at  the  unveiling  of  the 
statue  of  Roger  Williams,  308. 

Adirondacks,  243. 

JSichylus,  142. 

Affectations,  Pharisaical,  51. 

Alcazar,  288. 

Alchemy  of  a  daily  communion,  133. 

Alden,  Rev.  Charles  H.,  13. 

Alden,  Mrs.,  10. 

Alden,  Miss,  recollections  by,  9. 

Alexander  I.,  343. 

Alexander  Borgia,  22. 

Alienation  of  the  educated  class  from 
politics,  303. 

Allen,  George  E.,  54. 

Althaus,  94. 

Ambition  for  scholarship,  242. 

Ambition,  to  guard  against,  48. 

Ambrose,  196. 

American  Board,  104. 

American  Quarterly  Church  Review, 
article  in,  255. 

Amherst  Oration,  228 

Analysis  of  lecture  on  Gustavus  Adol- 
phus,  269. 

Analysis  of  lecture,  265. 

Andover,  doubts  and  fears,  52. 

Andover,  51 ;  address  at,  231. 

Andover  Library,  60. 

Andrea  del  Sarto,  85. 

Anecdotes  in  lectures,  226. 

Augel,  fallen,  291. 

Angell,  Prest.  James  B.,  35;  editor 
Providence  Journal,  171  ;  in  Bur- 
lington, 198 ;  in  Ann  Arbor,  278  ; 
joins  party  in  the  Adirondacks,  243 ; 
letters  to,  42,  46,  50,  52,  55,  157, 
1C1,  199,  202,  228,  235,  237,  23S,  242, 
254,  257,  259,  268,  276,  278,  281,  289, 
292,  293,  294,  295,  304,  309,  310,  311, 
316,  333,  336,  343  ;  letter  from  J.  O. 
Murray,  337. 

Anhalt,  179. 

Anmeldebuch,  69. 

Annals,  our  own,  324. 


Annapolis,  321. 

Anthony,  George  N.,  54,  58. 

Anthony,  Senator,  301. 

Anxiety,  season  of,  155. 

Apennines,  ride  across,  283. 

Apology,  Barclay's,  115. 

Apostles,  to  tread  in  the  footsteps  of 
the,  52. 

Apostolic  Fathers,  111. 

Architecture,  219. 

Argument,  Theislic,  lectures  on,  325. 

Argyle,  Duke  of,  183. 

Aristophanes,  "  Birds,"  45. 

Aristotle,  illustration  from,  72. 

Arlington  Street  Church,  Boston,  let- 
ters from,  256. 

Arnold,  Dr.,  203. 

Art,  sympathies  in,  263. 

Articles,  holiday,  191. 

Artists,  Rhode  Island,  182. 

Associates,  need  of,  50. 

Astronomy,  39. 

Asylum,  Sunday  service,  49. 

Atlantic  Monthly,  the  late  President 
Wayland,  25. 

Atmosphere  of  seminary,  53. 

Atonement,  150. 

Atonement,  objective  nature  of,  87. 

Attwood,  Dr.,  58. 

Audience  at  Baltimore,  319. 

Augsburg,  86. 

Augustine,  113. 

Authorities  on  the  History,  216. 

Authority,  limits  of,  199 ;  original,  157. 

Awakening  faculty,  227. 

Bacon,  Francis,  205. 

Bacon,  Dr.  Lsonard  Woolsey,  recollec- 
tions by,  59. 

Baltimore,  letters  from,  319 ;  prepara- 
tion for,  316. 

Bancroft,  Lucius,  54,  58. 

Baptismal  font,  112. 

Barcelona,  286. 

Barrows,  Professor,  55. 

Baggars  in  Berlin,  95. 

Bellows,  Dr.  H.  W.,  sermons,  126. 

Beneficent  Cong.  Church,  156. 

Berkeley,  Bishop,  182. 

Berlin  University,  93. 

Berwick,  106. 

Bible-class  of  boys,  49. 


354 


INDEX. 


Bibliotheoa  Sacra,  article  in,  98. 

Birds,  Aristophanes,  45. 

Birthday,  25th,  105. 

Birthplace^  7  ;  love  of,  190. 

Bishop,  L.*A.,  16. 

Blunt's  "History  of  the  Reforma- 
tion," 240. 

Books,  knowledge  of,  27. 

Borden,  Capt.  Thomas,  9. 

Bossuet,  206. 

Boston,  landed  in,  107. 

Bourgereau,  277. 

Bowen,  Earl  P.,  16. 

Braunschweig  (Brunswick),  81. 

Bremen,  64,  80. 

Brenchley  parisli  register,  2. 

Briefs  for  Thirty  Years'  War  lectures, 
317. 

Bristol  Cong.  Church,  112. 

Bristol,  situation,  1. 

Brocken,  The,  67. 

Brookline,  Harvard  Congregational 
Church,  131 

Brothers'  Society,  38. 

Brougham,  Lord,  177. 

Brown,  Buckminster.  256. 

Brown  University,  57 ;  enters,  19 ; 
graduated  from,  42  ;  offer  of  a  pro- 
fessorship in,  143 ;  offer  from,  ac- 
cepted, 153  ;  Degree  from,  240. 

Brownson,  O.,200. 

Brunswick,  64. 

Buckle,  209. 

Bunsen,  87;  conversations  with,  89; 
Baptists  and  Congregationalists,  90  ; 
at  Heidelberg,  91 ;  personal  appear- 
ance, 92 ;  recollections  of,  240. 

Burlington,  oration  in,  229. 

Buslmell,  Horace,  admired,  24  ;  letters 
from,  116,  118,  119;  letters  to,  118, 
121. 

Butler's  Analogy,  29. 

Byron,  Life  and  Letters,  115. 

Caldwell,  Dr.  Samuel  L..  103 ;  paper 
by,  295 ;  recollections  by,  298. 

Call  to  Fall  River  accepted,  109. 

Call  to  other  churches,  116. 

Call  from  Hartford,  Dr.  Bushnell's  sat- 
isfaction in,  119. 

Call  to  Hartford  declined,  121. 

Call  to  Harvard  Cong.  Church,  131. 

Call  to  College  of  the  City  of  New 
York,  235. 

Call  to  Harvard  University,  235,  238. 

Call  to  University  of  Wisconsin,  241. 

Call  to  Princeton,  255. 

Call  to  Second  Church,  Boston,  292. 

Call  to  Johns  Hopkins  University,  304. 

Calvin,  196. 

Canning,  lecture  on,  345. 

Capture  of  Prescott,  308. 

Carlyle,  261. 

Cars,  Sunday,  165. 

Oat,  Dr.  Bushnell's,  120. 


Cathedrals,  232. 

Catherine  de  Medicis,  180. 

Celebrating,  local,  344. 

Cemetery,  Swan  Point,  347. 

Central  Church,  Boston,  231. 

Chace,  Prof.  G.  I.,  recollections  by,  28. 

Chace,  George  I.,  164,  labors  ended, 
277  ;  on  Theistic  Argument,  328. 

Changes,  sudden,  114. 

Channing,  90. 

Charge,  Fall  River,  resigned,  129. 

Charity,  thrice  blessed,  107 ;  Sisters 
of,  ISO. 

Chatsworth,  106. 

Chesterfield,  Lord,  21. 

Chicago,  158. 

Children,  two,  born,  140  ;  282 ;  Chil- 
dren in  the  hospital,  308. 

Christ,  the  ideal  man,  S7  ;  Person  of, 
87 ;  Humanity  of,  135 ;  Tholuck  on 
Life  of,  70. 

Christening,  05. 

Christianity,  emphatically  a  Life,  256  ; 
early,  in  China,  61. 

Christmas  1SC8,  195. 

Church,  Congregpticnal,  Bristol,  12. 

Church,  a  free,  1S9. 

Church,  Park  Congregational,  Hart- 
ford, 278. 

Church,  Greek,  Venice,  286. 

Church,  Second,  in  Boston,  292. 

Church's  Parthenon,  277. 

Clarendon,  128. 

Classical  Oration,  The  Living  Princi- 
ples of  Literature,  32,  42. 

Class  studies,  the  monotony  of,  57. 

"Clericus,"  163. 

Club,  Friday  Evening,  296. 

Club  of  six  ministers,  142. 

Coaster's  Island,  Sunday  services,  49. 

Coldness,  relapses  into,  52. 

Coleridge,  57. 

Colleague  with  Dr.  Bushnell,  116. 

College  prayer  meetings,  36. 

College  life,  spiritual  advantages  of,  46. 

College  of  the  City  of  New  York,  offer 
of  presidency,  235. 

College  work,  154. 

Colonial  History,  228. 

Commencement,  42,  293,  311. 

Committee  from  Hartlord,  119 ;  from 
Arlington  Street  Church,  256. 

Commonplace  Book,  19. 

Commons,  House  of,  174. 

Commonwealth,  man  owes  the,  194. 

Communion  Service  of  the  Episcopal 
Church,  115. 

Conceptions,  growth  of,  202. 

Congregationalism,  tendency  of,  48  ; 
division  in,  132,  148. 

Consecration,  46. 

Consolation,  347. 

Constituents  of  history,  207. 

Constitution,  spiritual,  of  the  race,  136. 

Constitution  of  United  States,  222. 


INDEX. 


355 


Ccntent  in  this  life,  115. 

Controversies,  147. 

Controversy,  turning  from,  129. 

Conversations,  29S. 

Conviction  under  enigmas,  300. 

Cordova,  287, 

Cotton's  Answer  to  Williams,  162. 

Council,  Brookline,  140. 

Cowes,  80. 

Criminal  law,  Mittermaier  on,  87. 

Critics,  171. 

Crowne,  191. 

Crusaders,  266. 

Darwin,  Charles,  326. 

Dates,  21S. 

D'Aubigne",  20. 

Daughter,  his,  166. 

Day,  duty  every,  52. 

"  Day  of  Doom,  the,"  184. 

Days,  swifter  than  a  weaver's  shuttle, 
168. 

Deaf-mute  education,  190. 

Death,  346. 

De  Civitate,  122. 

Decrees,  federal,  178 

Deer  hunt  on  the  Raquette,  243-253. 

Degree  of  D.  D  ,  240. 

De  Maistre,  129. 

De  Normandie  James,  260. 

Departure  from  Brunswick,  67. 

Derwentwater,  106. 

Descart,  267 

Development,  210. 

De  Wolf,  Mrs.  C.  D.,  recollections  by, 
14. 

De  Wolf,  Winthrop,  16. 

Diamond,  2. 

Dickens,  Charles,  186. 

"  Dies  Irae,"  184. 

Difficulties,  56 ;  conquering,  327. 

Diman,  Dimont,  Diment,  2. 

Diman,  name,  how  derived,  2. 

Diman,  Jeremiah,  2. 

Diman,  Deacon,  Jeremiah,  2. 

Diman,  Byron,  4 ;  historical  tastes,  5  ; 
letter  to,  74. 

Diman,  Mrs.  B.,  6. 

Diman,  Henry  W.,  90 ;  letter  to,  143. 

Diman,  Mrs.  J.  L.,  letters  to,  282, 319. 

Diman,  J.  L.,  birth,  3  ;  birthplace,  7  ; 
hi3  "call,"  17;  enters  Brown  Uni- 
versity, 19  ;  unites  with  First  Church 
in  Bristol,  25  ;  resolves  to  fit  him- 
self for  the  ministry,  37  ;  graduation 
from  Brown,  42 ;  studies  in  New- 
port, 42  ;  enters  Andover  Seminary, 
52 ;  sails  for  Europe,  62 ;  lands  at 
Bremen,  G4 ;  arrives  in  Brunswick, 
64 ;  arrives  in  Halle,  67  ,  matricu- 
lates at  University  of  Halle,  68 ;  at- 
tends lectures  at  Halle,  70;  leaves 
Halle,  77  ;  visits  Dresden  Gallery, 
S4 ;  visits  Munich  Pinacothek,  85  ; 
matriculates  at  University  of  Heidel- 


berg, 86 ;  calls  upon  Bunsen,  89 ; 
walks  in  Switzerland,  93 ;  vioits 
Dresden  again,  93 ;  matriculates  at 
University  of  Berlin,  94 ;  finishes 
first  sermon,  96 ;  visits  Wittenberg 
and  Weimar,  100 ;  visits  Eisenach 
and  Waterloo,  101  ;  arrives  in  Pari?, 
101  ;  visits  the  gallery  of  the  Louvre, 
103 ;  arrives  in  London,  103 ;  hears 
Maurice,  103 ;  travels  in  England 
and  Scotland,  106 ;  reaches  home, 
107  ;  licensed  to  preach,  108;  called 
to  Old  South  Church,  108;  ac- 
cepts call  to  Fall  River,  109 ;  ap- 
proached on  behalf  of  the  Huguenot 
Church,  Charleston,  116;  the  Mer- 
cer St.  Church  and  Shawmut  Street 
Church,  116  ;  called  to  Hartford, 116  ; 
corresponds  with  Dr.  Bushnell,  116; 
declines  call  to  Hartford,  121  ;  love 
of  the  office  of  preacher,  123  ;  dis- 
turbance of  ideas,  125  ;  resigns  pas- 
torate of  Fall  River  Church,  129  ; 
mirried  to  Miss  E.  G.  Stimson,  131  ; 
accepts  call  to  Harvard  Congrega- 
tional Church,  Brookline,  131 ;  ex- 
amined by  installing  council,  132  ; 
installed  as  pastor  of  Harvard  Con- 
gregational Church,  140  ;  desired 
by  other  churches,  140  ;  exchanges 
pulpits  with  Dr.  Rufus  Ellis,  141 ; 
called  to  a  professorship  in  Brown 
University,  143 ;  accepts  call  to 
Brown,  153 ;  moves  to  Providence, 

153  ;  lectures  on  political  economy, 

154  ;  edits  John  Cotton's  Answer  to 
Roger  Williams,  157 ;  goes  to  Chi- 
cago, 158  ;  delivers  discourse  in 
commemoration  of  Professor  Dunn, 
163 ;  writes  article  on  Sunday  cars, 
165;  writes  for  Providence  Daily 
Journal,  171  ;  on  English  politics, 
173 ;  on  German  politics,  178  ;  on 
Franco-Prussian  war,  179 ;  book  re- 
views, 182  ;  on  a  free  church,  189  ; 
holiday  articles,  191.  Academic  du- 
ties, 199  ;  teaching  of  history,  203  ; 
plan  of  lectures,  217  ;  oration  oa 
"  The  Method  of  Academic  Cul- 
ture," 228 ;  offered  the  presidency 
of  the  College  of  the  City  of  New 
York,  235  ;  offered  Hollis  professor- 
ship in  Harvard,  235  ;  offer  declined, 
238 ;  lecture  on  the  Historical  Basis 
of  Belief,  238 ;  renewed  offer  from 
Harvard,  239  ;  degree  of  D  D.  con- 
ferred by  Brown  University,  240 ; 
offered  presidency  of  the  University 
of  Wisconsin,  241  ;  elected  to  the 
school  board,  242  ;  vacation  in  the 
Adirondacks,  243 ;  article  in  New 
Englander,  254  ;  article  in  American 
Quarterly  Church  Review,  254  ; 
called  to  Princeton,  255 ;  letter 
from    the    Arlington    St.    Church, 


356 


INDEX. 


Boston,  256 ;  lectures  at  Normal 
School,  257 ;  lectures  to  private 
classes,  259 ;  lectures  to  evening 
classes,  272  ;  lectures  at  the  Friends' 
School,  272 ;  edits  George  Fox's 
"  Digg'd  out  of  his  Burrowes,"  279  ; 
elected  corresponding  member  of 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society, 
280 ;  sails  for  Europe,  281 ;  visits 
Italy,  283  ;  visits  Spain,  28C  ;  called  to 
the  Second  Church  in  Boston,  292  ; 
delivers  Phi  Beta  Kappa  oration  at 
Cambridge,  303  ;  offered  a  profes- 
sorship in  Johns  Hopkins  Univer- 
sity, 304  ;  trustee  of  Reform  School, 
306  ;  trustee  of  Rhode  Island  Hospi- 
tal, 307  ;  delivers  oration  on  the 
capture  of  Prescott,  30S ;  delivers 
oration  at  the  unveiling  of  Roger 
Williams  monument,  309  ;  writes  for 
the  "Nation,"  309;  accepts  invita- 
tion to  lecture  at  Baltimore,  310 ;  ac- 
cepts invitation  to  lecture  before  the 
Lowell  Institute,  315 ;  lectures  in 
Baltimore,  317  ;  lectures  at  normal 
school  on  American  History,  323 ; 
prepares  Lowell  lectures,  325 ;  ac- 
cepts invitation  to  lecture  at  the 
Johns  Hopkins  University,  335  ;  va- 
cation in  the  Maine  woods,  336 ;  de- 
livers bi-centennial  address  at  Bris- 
tol, 338  ;  lectures  to  private  classes 
on  Nineteenth  Century,  342 ;  last 
lecture,  345 ;  illness,  345  ;  death, 
346. 

Discussion  with  candor,  328. 

Discussions,  liberal,  172. 

Disraeli,  105, 175. 

Divisions  of  subjects,  225. 

Doctrine,  meditating  upon,  113. 

Dog,  favorite  visitor,  231. 

Dogmatic  statements,  139. 

Dogmatics,  MUller  on,  70. 

Domenichino,  85. 

Dominie  (T.  Thayer),  40, 42, 43,  46,  48, 
50,294. 

Domkirche,  Brunswick,  65. 

Dresden  Gallery.  83,  93. 

Duchies,  Elbe,  179. 

Dumont,  2 

Dunham  and  Owen,  committee  from 
Hartford,  119. 

Dunn,  R.  P.,  death  of,  164. 

Dunn,  Robinson  Potter,  commemo- 
ration of,  163. 

Diirer,  Albrecht,  262. 

Durfee,  Simeon  B.,  54. 

Duties,  practical,  45. 

Duty,  public,  204. 

Early  Christianity  in  China,  61. 
Easthampton,  Dimans  at,  2. 
Eaton,  Mrs.  A.  M.,  260. 
Eclipse  of  the  sun,  295. 
Economy,  political,  289. 


Ecstasy,  seraphic,  124. 

Edinburgh,  106. 

Edinburgh  Review,  174. 

Editorials,  175;  spirit  of,  194. 

Editorials,  veil  of  the,  172. 

Educated  men,  responsibility  of,  222. 

Edwards,  Jonathan,  11,  69,  147. 

Eichhom,  202. 

Eisenach,  100. 

Element,   intellectual.  47 ;    spiritual, 

47. 
Eliot,  Prest.  C.  W.,  letter  to,  230,  238. 
Ellis,  Dr.  George  E.,  162. 
Ellis,  Dr.  Rufus,  140 ;  letters  to,  141, 

292. 
Elsethal,  82. 

Emerson,  Miss  T.,  letter  to,  230. 
Emotions  in  religious  life,  114. 
England,  martial  airs  of,  195. 
English  literature,  27. 
Enters  Brown  University,  19. 
Episcopal  Church,  inclination  toward, 

115. 
Erasmus,  220. 
Erdmann,  Professor,  69 ;  on  History 

of  Philosophy,  70  ;  dinner  with,  70  ; 

tea  with,  72. 
Essex,  South,  Association,  108. 
Europe,  sails  for,  02,  281. 
European  travel,  50. 
Ewald's  History,  112. 
Examination,  school,  66 ;  strict,  131 ; 

severe,  157. 
Examinations,  severe,  220. 
Exchange  of  pulpits  with  Unitarians, 

140. 
Experience,  unity  of  one,  138. 
Experiences,  lessons  of  by-gone. 

Facts  of  history,  213. 

Fall  River  pastorate  resigned,  129. 

Family  prayers,  48. 

Farrar,  200. 

Fast,  college,  289. 

Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  138. 

Fathers,  folios  of,  123. 

Federal  idea,  200. 

Feudalism,  219. 

First  Church,  Bristol,  unites  with,  25. 

First  Congregational  Church,  Fall 
River,  109 

First  Congregational  Society,  Hart- 
ford, 140. 

First  Church  in  Bodon,  250th  Anni- 
versary, 140. 

First  sermon  preached,  106. 

Fisher,  Dr.  George  P.,  158, 165  ;  on  the- 
ological position,  144  ;  on  Theistic 
Argument,  325 ;  preface  to  Theistic 
Argument,  327. 

Fisherman's  luck,  338. 

Fitzroy,  Admiral,  249. 

Flageolet,  one  tune  on  the,  242. 

Flesh,  the  Logos  in  the,  87. 

Flint's  "Theism,"  326. 


INDEX. 


357 


Florence,  285. 

Folios  of  the  Fathers,  123. 

Font,  baptismal,  112. 

Fontinelle,  198. 

Foster,  John,  113. 

Foster,  W.  E.,  reference  list,  323,  335. 

Foundation,  Apostolic,  141. 

Fourth  of  July,  191. 

Fox,  George,  digg'd  out  of  his  Bur- 
rowes,  2 1 9. 

Fever,  typhoid,  30. 

Frankfort,  178. 

Frankfort  Parliament,  76. 

Franklin,  Frances,  3. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  3. 

Frederick  William  I.,  222. 

Frederick  the  Great,  178. 

Freeman,  E.  A.,  201. 

French  History,  267. 

French  Revolution,  268. 

Friday  Evening  Club,  296  ;  last  meet- 
ing with,  345. 

Friday  morning  History  class,  261. 

Friends,  Society  of,  280. 

Friends'  School,  lectures  at,  272. 

Fuller,  Andrew,  46. 

Function  of  a  newspaper,  172. 

Furness,  Wm.,  85. 

Future  punishment,  151. 

Gammell,  Pbof.  Wm.,  recollection  by, 
30.  " 

Gaspee,  3. 

General  truths  of  History,  212. 

Genesis,  112 

Gerhardt,  Paul,  translation  from,  88. 

Gsrnian,  study  of,  43. 

German  speculation,  87  ;  politics.  17S 

Gilman,  President  D.  C,  offer  of  pro- 
fessorship, 304  ;  on  lectures,  318  ; 
letters  to,  310,  314,  335,  341. 

Gladstone,  W.  E  ,  173,  174. 

Gladstone,  capacity  of  leadership,  176. 

Gluck,  opera  by,  99. 

Gobelin  workmen,  169 

Goddard,  Mrs.  William,  261 ;  subjects 
of  lectures  at  her  house,  274 ;  Theis- 
tic  Argument  lectures,  334. 

Goethe,  57,  175. 

Good  Friday  service,  293. 

Granada,  287 

Grecian  sects,  44. 

Greece,  Isles  of,  196 

Greek,  study  of,  45,  53. 

Greenough,  J.  C,  257 

Gregory  the  Great,  184,  196 

Grisi,  102. 

Guizot,  taught  by  new  method,  158 ; 
analyze  as,  209 ;  take  facts  as,  216. 

Halle,  67. 
Hamburg,  179. 
Hammerlin,  Felix,  184. 
Hanover,  64,  81,  179. 
Happiness,  sources  of,  233. 


Harbor,  Bristol,  8. 

Hartford,  call  from,  116  ;  nail  to,  de- 
clined, 121 ;  preaching  in,  229. 
Harvard      Congregational       Church, 

Brookline,  131,  140. 
Harvard  University,  offers  from,  235, 

238,  239. 
Hazard,  F.  R.,  202. 
Hazard,  Mrs.  Rowland,  261. 
Hazard,  Rowland,  letter  to,  35  ;  Adi- 
rondack   party,    243 ;    on    Theistio 
Argument,  330 ;  joins  vacation  party, 
336. 
Hazard,  R.  G    2d,  lecture-book,  217; 

recollections  by,  223 
Heart,  condemned  in,  51 
Heber,  127. 
Hebrew,  study  of,  53. 
Hegel's  lectures,  218. 
Heidelberg,  86 ;  Bunsen  at,  91 
Heinrich  der  Lowe,  81. 
Henry  IV.,  267. 

Herbert,  Realism  examined,  332. 
Herculaneum,  284. 
Herder,  207 
Heresy,  savor  of,  149. 
Herman,  steamer,  62. 
Hesse,  elector  of,  179. 
Highlands,  the,  106. 
"  Historicus,"  163 
History  as  a  science,  20 
History  of  Bristol,  12 
History  class,  Tuesday  morning,  261 ; 
second  Tuesday  morning,  261  ;  Fri- 
day morning,  261. 
History  classes,  evening,  272. 
History,  early  French,  155. 
History,  instinct  with  order,  208. 
History  of  Ancient  Philosophy,  Ritter, 

44. 
History  and  Political  Economy,  chair 

of,  in  Brown  University,  143. 
History,  philosophy  of,  209 ;  value  of, 
205  ;  science  of,  209  ;  the  record  of 
man's  career,  214. 
Historical  Society,  Mass.,  elected  to, 

280. 
Historical  Society,  R.  I.,  190. 
Historical    studies,  nature  and  value 

of,  204. 
Hitchcock,  Dr.  Roswell  D.,  140,  293, 
Holiness,  slow  progress  in,  52. 
Hollis  professorship,  235. 
Home  influence,  18. 
Home,  Providence,  154. 
Home,  a  happy,  232. 
Homer,  185. 

Honorable  dealing,  views  of,  118. 
Hopkins,  Johns,  University,  offer  of 

professorship  in,  304. 
Horse-cars  on  Sunday,  149. 
House,  born  in,  7  ;  Angell  Street,  154. 
House  of  Commons,  105. 
Household,  well    ordered,    234 ;    his, 
282. 


358 


INDEX. 


Huguenot  Church,  Charleston,  S.  C, 

116. 
Human  destiny,  125,  342. 
Hunt,  a  deer,  on  the  Raquette,  243. 
Hurd,  J.  C,  200. 
Hurst  Castle,  80. 
Hursy,  Professor,  69. 
Huxley,  326. 

Ideal  of  academic  training,  161. 
Ideas,  disturbance  of,  125. 
Illness,  93  ;  last,  345. 
Incarnation,  the,  137,  150. 
Inconsistency,  no  real,  145. 
Independence,  personal,  145. 
Infants,  reprobate,  186. 
Influence  of  educated  young  men,  215. 
Influence  of  President  Wayland,  24. 
Inspiration  of  the  Scriptures,  150. 
Installation  at  Brookline,  140. 
Institutions,  obsolete,  177. 
Intellectual  element  in   Christianity, 

47. 
Interests,  highest,  325. 
International  law,  222. 
Introductory  lecture,  203. 
Invitation  to  deliver  an  oration  at  Ann 

Arbor,  333. 
Irving,  Edward,  155. 
Italy,  282. 

Janet's  "  Final  Causes,"  326. 

Jerusalem,  Mother  of  us  all,  194. 

John  Cotton's  Answer  to  Roger  Wil- 
liams, 157. 

Johns  Hopkins  University,  lectures  at, 
317  ;  offer  of  professorship,  304. 

Johnson,  Reverdy,  322. 

Johnson,  Samuel,  205. 

Jonah,  the  prophet,  159. 

Jones,  Augustine,  274. 

Journal,  Foreign,  62. 

Journal,  Providence  Daily,  writes  for, 
171. 

Julius  II.,  portrait  of,  263. 

Justification,  Barclay's  Apology,  115. 

Kant,  study  of,  70. 

Kaulbach,  Destruction  of  Jerusalem, 

85. 
Kenilworth,  106. 
Kent,  James,  200. 
Kindergarten,  190. 
King  Philip,  steamer,  7. 
King's  Chapel,  preaching  in,  316. 
Kirk's  Charles  the  Bold,  200. 
Kugler's  Handbook,  study  of,  100. 

Labors,  blessing  of  God  upon,  110 
Labor  frittered  away,  295. 
Lacordaire,  201. 
Lake  Michigan,  tapping  the  bottom 

of,  160. 
Last  lecture,  345. 
Last  term  in  college,  39. 


Latin  composition,  19. 

Latin  reading,  27. 

Latitudinarian,  149. 

Law  and  grace,  122. 

Law,  international,  290. 

Lecture,  historical  basis  of  belief,  238. 

Lecture,  introductory,  203. 

Lectures,  70. 

Lectures,  English,  294. 

Lectures,  evening,  154. 

Lectures  at  the  Friends'  School,  272. 

Lectures,  Rothe,  87. 

Lectures  at  State  Normal  School,  257. 

Lectures,  subjects  of,  at  Mrs.  God- 
dard's,  274. 

Lehuerou,  262. 

Leibnitz,  81,  198. 

Leo,  Professor,  70. 

Leonardo,  219,  262. 

Leonardo's  Mona  Lisa,  263. 

Lepsius,  94. 

Letter  from  the  Arlington  Street 
Church,  Boston,  256. 

Letter  to  Horace  Bushnell,  118,  121 ; 
to  Byron  Diman,  74  ;  to  Henry  W. 
Diman,  143 ;  to  Miss  T.  Emerson, 
230;  to  Rowland  Hazard,  35;  to 
Thomas  Shepard,  112. 

Letters,  35 ;  value  of,  194. 

Letters  from  Horace  Bushnell,  116, 
118,119. 

Letters  to  J.  B.  Angell,  42,  46,  50,  52, 
55,  157,  161,  199,  202,  228,  235,  237, 
238,  242,  254,  257,  259,  268,  276,  278, 
281,  289,  '292,  293,  'JIM,  295,  304,  309, 
310,  311,  316,  333,  336,  343. 

Letters  to  Mrs.  Diman,  282,  319;  to 
C.  W.  Eliot,  230,  238 ;  to  Rufus  Ellis, 
141,  292 ;  to  D.  C.  Gilman,  310,  314, 
335,  341 ;  to  Augustus  Lowell,  313, 
315;  to  J  O.  Munay,  37,  110,  114, 
122,  130,  155;  to  Miss  Emily  G. 
Stimson,  109,  113,  124;  to.  E.G. 
Stimson,  passages  from,  125-129. 

Library,  Gov.  Diman's,  10. 

License  to  preach,  108. 

Life,  college,  spiritual  advantages  of, 
46. 

Life,  hardest  thing  about  a  minister's, 
51. 

Life  of  a  pastor,  45. 

Life,  retired,  40 ;  ripened,  347. 

Leipsic,  74. 

Lincoln,  Professor  J.  L.,  260 ;  recollec- 
tions by,  32  ;  club  meeting,  295 ;  on 
club  evenings,  296. 

Lincoln's  Inn,  Maurice  at,  103. 

Liverpool,  106. 

Loch  Katrine,  106. 

Logical  clearness,  152. 

Logos,  the,  72. 

Logos  in  the  flesh,  87. 

London,  103,  288. 

Loneliness,  42. 

Loomis,  Henry,  88. 


INDEX. 


359 


Lord  John  Russell,  105. 

Lords,  House  of,  176. 

Louvre,  gallery  of,  103. 

Love,  yearning  love  for  men,  131. 

Lowell,  Augustus,  325  ;  letter  to,  313, 

315. 
Lowell  Institute  lectures,  twelve,  333. 
Luther,  20, 196. 
Luther,  Hannah,  3. 
Luther's  room  in  the  Wartburg,  101. 

Macaulay,  20. 

Macdonald,  George,  201. 

Madonna  (Sistine),  84,  263. 

Madrid,  286. 

Magdeburg,  67. 

Maine,  200. 

Maiden,  185 

Malone,  Rev.  Mr.,  visit  to  reformato- 
ries, etc.,  with,  114. 

Man,  a  social  animal,  51 ;  the  ideal, 
87  ;  owes  the  commonwealth  a  debt, 
194. 

Manner,  dignity  of,  59 ;  in  the  pulpit, 
123  ;  in  private  lectures,  264. 

Manner  of  lecturing,  225. 

Manning  Hall,  lectures  in,  343. 

Manuscript,  without,  321. 

Mario,  102. 

Marriage,  131. 

Material,  historical,  new,  316. 

Matriculation  at  Halle,  68  ;  at  Heidel- 
berg, 86  ;  at  University  of  Berlin,  94. 

Maurice,  sermon  by,  103. 

Mediaeval  institutions,  217. 

Meditating  upon  truth,  113. 

Meeting  house,  16. 

Melrose,  106. 

Memoirs,  21. 

Mercer  St.  Presbyterian  Church,  New 
York,  116,  140. 

Metaphysical  studies,  28. 

Metternich,  343. 

Mexico,  182. 

Michael  Angelo,  219. 

Mill,  J.  Stuart,  326. 

Millenarians,  126. 

Mind,  elastic  habit  of,  327. 

Minister,  discouragements  and  sup- 
ports of  a,  45. 

Ministry,  success  in,  292. 

Missionaries,  Jesuit,  61. 

Mittermaier,  87. 

Modern  history,  217. 

Modern  society,  tendencies  of,  233. 

Montaigne,  205,  267. 

Mont  Ceuis  Tunnel,  283. 

Monthly  Religious  Magazine,  140. 

Moral  philosophy,  34. 

More,  Henry,  57. 

Motley,  J.  L.,  200,  221,  316. 

Mount  Hope,  1. 

.Mailer,  Dr.  Julius,  Christian  doctrine 
of  sin,  43,  69  ;  as  a  lecturer,  72 ;  on 
dogmatics,  70. 


Munich,  84. 

Murillo,  85. 

Murray,  J.  O.,  46 ;  at  Andover,  51,  54, 
58;  Adirondack  part}',  243  ;  letters 
to,  37,  110,  114,  122,  130,  155 ;  visit 
to,  276 ;  joins  vacation  party,  336 ; 
letter  to  J.  B.  Angell,  337. 

Music,  harmonies  of,  196. 

Mysticism,  137. 

Mythologies,  ancient,  44. 

Naples,  284. 

Napoleon  HI.,  180,  342. 

Napoleon's  defeats,  81. 

Narragansett  Club,  publications  of, 
162,  279. 

Nation,  The,  first  contribution  to,  309. 

National  debt,  lecture  on,  202. 

National  development,  191. 

Nativity,  Church  of  the,  196. 

Nature,  man's  normal,  135. 

Nestorian  Church,  61. 

New  England  divinity,  141. 

New  England  theology,  60. 

New  Euglander,  articles  in,  61 ,  254. 

Newcastle,  106. 

Newport,  42,  50. 

"New  School,"  149. 

Newspaper-writing,  194. 

New  Year's,  192. 

Niagara,  steamor,  105. 

Nicene  creed,  150. 

Nigretti  and  Zambra,  249. 

Nineteenth  Century  lectures,  341. 

Nitzsch,  95  ;  sermon  by,  99. 

Normal  School,  257 ;  American  His- 
tory, 323  ;  Constitutional  History, 
335. 

North  American,  editors  of,  305. 

North  Sea,  64. 

Note  book,  19. 

Notre  Dame,  Paris,  101. 

Nuremberg,  84. 

Obedience,  Christ's  life  op,  133. 

Objections  to  study  of  history,  211. 

Ocean,  63. 

Offer  from  Cambridge  declined,  238. 

Offer  from  University  of  Wisconsin, 
241 ;  from  Princeton,  255  ;  from 
Second  Church,  Boston,  292. 

Offer  of  historical  professorship  in  Har- 
vard, 239. 

Offer  of  professorship  in  John  Hop- 
kins University,  304. 

Offers  from  Harvard  University,  235. 

"  O  God,  mein  -SWiSp/er,"  88. 

Oldenburg,  179. 

"  Old  School,"  149. 

Old  South  Church,  Boston,  108. 

"  O  Lord  Creator,"  88. 

Opinion,  public,  shapes,  194. 

Opinions,  modified,  126. 

Opponents,  views  of,  183. 

Oration  at  Amherst,   228;    at    Cam- 


360 


INDEX. 


bridge,  303;  on  Capture  of  Prescott, 
303  ;  on  Roger  Williams,  309. 

Oration,  classical,  32,  42. 

Oration,  Fourth  of  July,  156. 

Oration,  Settlement  of  Mt.  Hope,  337. 

Ordained  as  pastor,  Fall  River,  109. 

Organic  unity  of  human  race,  206. 

Orpheus  and  Eurydice,  Opera,  99. 

Ossian,  185. 

Oxford,  University  of,  174. 

Paxmerston,  105. 

Pantheism,  44. 

Papers,  foreign,  179. 

Paradox,  fondness  for,  300. 

Paris,  101. 

Park,  Professor,  58, 147. 

Parker,  Theodore,  Sermons,  128. 

"  Parrots,"  224. 

Pascal,  113. 

Pascal,  Jaqueline,  126. 

Pascal's  Provincial  Letters,  128. 

Past,  reverence  for  the,  78. 

Pastoral  cares,   110. 

Patience  of  an  audience,  321. 

Paul  Tholuck  on  doctrine  of,  79. 

Paul  Veronese,  84. 

Peabody,  Dr.  A.  P.,  292. 

Peace  Congress,  102. 

Pearson,  201. 

Peel,  Sir  Robert,  174. 

Persons  deserving  of  help,  167. 

Perugino,  85. 

Phalaris,  epistles  of,  175. 

Phi  Beta  Kappa  oration  at  Amherst, 
228 ;  at  Cambridge,  303. 

Philadelphia,  church  in,  140. 

Philosophy,  study  of,  44. 

Philosophy,  Erdmann  on  History  of, 
70. 

Philosophy  of  History,  207. 

Pictures,  modern,  277. 

Piety,  superior,  51. 

Pinacothek,  Munich,  84. 

Plan  of  redemption,  134. 

Plan  of  private  lectures,  261. 

Plato,  72. 

Playing-cards,  266. 

Pleurisy,  63. 

Plutarch,  205. 

Political  duty,  339. 

Political   economy,  200 ;    lectures  on, 

201. 
Politics,  English,  173. 
Pompeii,  284. 
Portsmouth,  R.  I.,  308. 
Position,    denominational,   not  easily 

denned,  256. 
Positions,  some,  not  bear  examination, 

329. 
Post,  W.  H.,  278. 
Post-office,  16. 
Practical  duties,  45. 
Prayer  meeting,  48. 
Prayer  meeting,  Berlin,  95,  99. 


Preaching,  with  some,  too  little  a  life, 
47  ;  ought  to  be  lyrical,  124  ;  under 
peculiar  circumstances,  255. 

Preparation  of  lectures  at  Baltimore, 
320. 

President's  Premium,  32. 

Pressure  from  an  earnest  class,  256. 

Princeton,  call  to,  255. 

Private  class  under  Professor  Chace, 
28. 

Private  classes,  259. 

Problems,  educational,  190  ;  grappled 
by  reason,  331. 

Procession  of  students,  71. 

Procession,  impressive,  312. 

Profession,  scholastic  side  of,  46. 

Professor,  a  true,  198. 

Progress,  human,  126. 

Proposition  from  Dr.  Bushnell,  117. 

Providence  Daily  Journal,  171. 

Providence  home,  153. 

Prussia,  178 ;  king  of,  178. 

Pulpit,  manner  in,  123. 

Punch,  177. 

Puritans,  234. 

Puritanism,  146. 

Quakers,  280. 
Queen  Caroline,  81. 
Questions  of  the  soul,  125. 
Quotations,  22. 

Ragged  schools,  London,  105. 

Raindeer,  bark,  63. 

Rainy  days,  15. 

Ranke  on  Middle  Ages,  94. 

Raphael,  85,  262. 

Read,  Judge,  165. 

Reading,  the  year's,  25 ;  careful  hab- 
its of,  26. 

Recitations,  223 ;  in  college,  33. 

Recollections  by  Miss  A.  F.  Alden,  9  ; 
Dr.  L.  W.  Bacon,  59;  Dr.  S.  L. 
Caldwell,  298 ;  Professor  G.  I. 
Chace,  28  ;  Mrs.  C.  D  DeWolf,  14  ; 
Mrs.  A.  M.  Eaton,  260;  Professor  G. 
P.  Fisher,  144 ;  Professor  William 
Gammell,  30;  R.  G.  Hazard,  2d, 
223;  Professor  J.  L.  Lincoln,  32; 
Judge  H.  B.  Staples,  28  ;  Dr.  C.  C. 
Tiffany,  77  ;  Dr.  J  G.  Vose,  57  ;  Miss 
B.  T.  Wing,  272. 

Record  in  college,  33. 

Records,  town,  12. 

Redemption,  plan  of,  134. 

Reformation,  lectures  on  the,  199. 

Reformatory,  London,  105. 

Reform  school,  306. 

Relation  of  history  to  political  train- 
ing, 214. 

Relations,  disagreeable,  with  denomi- 
nation, 144. 

Religion,  profession  of,  12  ;  sectarian, 
in  public  schools,  188 ;  in  America, 
297. 


INDEX. 


361 


"Religion  in  America,"  147. 

Renaissance,  219. 

Report,  omciLil,  322. 

Representatives,  House  of,  adjourned, 
34G. 

Republicans,  7G. 

Responsibility  of  being  qualified  for 
public  duty,  204. 

Results  lie  hid  from  our  inspection, 
109. 

Reticence,  171. 

Reuchlin,  220. 

Revelation,  210 ;  great  fact  of,  132. 

Review  in  honor  of  the  peace,  102. 

Reviews  for  the  "  Jotfrnal,"  183. 

Revival  among  academy  students,  56. 

Revival  of  letters,  220. 

Rhode  Island,  58  ;  compliment  to,  89  ; 
artists,  182  ;  Hospital,  trustee  of,  307. 

Rider,  S.  S.,  308;  secures  MS.,  309. 

Ritter,  90. 

Ritter,  History  of  Ancient  Philoso- 
phy, 44. 

Ritualism,  188. 

Robertson's  sermons,  127. 

Roediger,  Professor,  71. 

Roediger,  Christmas  Eve  with,  73. 

Roger  Williams  Address,  308. 

Roger  Williams,  Cotton's  Answer  to, 
157. 

Rogers,  Robert,  13,  190. 

Rogers  Free  Library,  14. 

Romanism,  127. 

Rome,  285. 

"  Rose  Farm,"  154. 

Rothe  lectures,  87. 

Rousseau,  confessions,  290. 

Royston,  sermon  at,  106. 

Rubens,  85. 

Rugby,  106. 

Russia,  74. 

Sabbath,  season  of  high  enjoyment, 

109. 
Sabbath  School,  110. 
Sack,  family  (Brunswick),  65. 
Sacrifices,  worldly,  52. 
Sailed  for  Europe,  62. 
Silem,  meeting  at,  108. 
Saracenic  architecture,  297. 
Saranac  lake3,  252. 
Siturday  questions,  218. 
Saxony,  178. 
Schiller,  57. 
S  hoferlein,  86. 
Srhool  examination,  66. 
Schools  in  Bristol,  18. 
Schwartz  on  doctrine  of  Paul,  70. 
Science,  modern,  tendency  of,  331. 
Scott,  Sir  Walter,  186. 
Scruples,  no  anxiety  to  satisfy,  148. 
Sears,  President,  of  Brown  University, 

143! 
Seclusion,  no  room  for,  194 
Sect,  mouthpiece  of  a,  292. 


Sects,  Grecian,  44. 

Sedan,  surrender  at,  181. 

Self,  forgetfulness  of,  48. 

Seminary  (Andover),  44. 

Seminary,  influence  on  character,  47 ; 

life,  53 ;  spirituality  in  the,  53 ;  room 

in,  54 ;  plan  for  leaving,  at  end  of 

second  year,  55;  hill  exposure,  60. 
Sense,  historical,  146. 
Sentences,  cadence  of,  123 ;  rounded, 

194. 
Sentiments,  fraternal,  141. 
Serfs,  Russian,  condition  of,  75. 
Sermon,  first,  9G ;  first,  preached,  106; 

"What  is  truth,"  128;   on  future 

punishment,  151. 
Sermons,  habits  in,   123 ;   considered 

unorthodox,  143. 
"  Sermons  in  Storms,"  166. 
Seville,  288. 

Sexes,  educating  together,  289. 
Shakespeare,  23. 

Shawmut  Street  Church,  Boston,  116. 
Sheffield,  W.  P.,  346. 
Shelley,  23. 

Shepard,  Thomas,  letter  to,  112. 
Simon,  D.  W.,  68,  87;  talk  with,  87; 

at  Royston,  106. 
Simonides  manuscript,  98. 
Simultaneous  courses  of  lectures,  271. 
Singan-fu,  monument  of,  61. 
Skiff,  a  Saranac,  245. 
Slavery,  36. 
Smith,  Goldwin,  204. 
Society,  enjoyment  of,  297. 
Son  of  Man,  136. 
Sorbonne,  lecture  at  the,  103. 
Soul,  questions  of  the,  230  ;  needs  of 

the,  for  growth,  114. 
Sovereignty,  theory  of,  200. 
Spain,  286. 
Spanish  artists,  297. 
Speech  acknowledging   degree  of  D. 

D.,  241. 
Spencer,  Herbert,  326. 
Spirit,  prayerful,  47  ;  doctrine  of,  134 ; 

cooler,  331. 
Spirits,  highest  order  of,  124. 
Spiritual  element  in  Christianity,  47. 
Spiritual  torpor,  115. 
Spooner,  Henry  J.,  346. 
Sports,  out-door,  10. 
Springfield,  church  in,  140. 
State  of  mind,  125. 
Statement,  diverpencies  of,  138. 
Statements  of   Cotton  and  Williams, 

analysis  of,  162. 
Statements,  startling,  2G6. 
Statesman,  modern,  342. 
Stein,  343. 
Stimson,   Miss  Emily  G.,  letters  to, 

109,  113,  124-129  ;  married,  131. 
Stimson,  John  J.,  death  of,  129. 
Stimson,  Miss  Maria  R.,  death  of,  109. 
Stowe,  Professor,  53,  69. 


362 


INDEX. 


Strain,  heavenly,  196. 

Strain  of  work,  333. 

Stratford,  106. 

Strauss,  72,  97 ;  on  the  Evangelical 
Alliance,  99. 

Student  days,  59. 

Student,  Russian,  74. 

Students,  theological,  4G. 

Studies,  class,  monotony  of,  57. 

Study  of  history,  claims  for  the  Ameri- 
can student,  204. 

Study,  pleasant  room,  327. 

Subjects,  variety  of,  195. 

Sugar,  266. 

Sunday  afternoon,  17. 

Sunday  cars,  1C5. 

Supper,  farewell,  77. 

Swedenborgians,  126. 

Sykes,  Rev.  James  N.,  19. 

System,  voluntary,  189. 

Talkee,  a  good,  298. 

Talleyrand,  343. 

Taxation,  lecture  on,  202. 

Taylor,  147. 

Teacher  of  the  church,  185. 

Tendencies  of  modern  society,  233. 

Thanksgiving,  192 ;  in  Boston,  157  ; 
reflections,  232. 

Thayer,  Dr.  Thatcher,  40,  42,  43,  46, 
47,  48,  50 ;  at  club  meetings,  294. 

Theistic  Argument,  325 ;  6.  P.  Fisher 
on,  325;  G.  I.  Chace  on,  328;  R. 
Hazard  on,  330. 

The  Nation  and  the  Constitution,  156. 

Theologians,  hair-splitting,  57. 

Theology,  40  ;  New  England,  60 ;  in- 
terest in,  72. 

Thirty  Years'  "War,  268,  314. 

Thirty  Years'  War  lectures,  317. 

Tholuck,  Professor,  68  ;  tea  with,  69  ; 
on  life  of  Christ,  70 ;  on  doctrine  of 
Paul,  70  ;  as  a  preacher,  71  ;  con- 
versation with,  72. 

Tholuck,  Mrs.,  73. 

Thomas  a  Kempis,  220. 

Thomas  of  Celano,  184. 

Thursday  lecture,  142. 

Tiffany,  Dr.  C  C. ,  recollections  by,  77  ; 
in  Providence,  291. 

Tischendorf,  66. 

Titian,  84. 

Travel,  European,  50. 

Trendelenburg,  94  ;  call  on,  96  ;  tea 
with,  96 :  conversation  on  political 
theories,  98. 

Trials  of  a  pastor's  life,  47. 

Trout-fishuig,  336. 

Trustees,  mode  of  electing,  161. 

Truth,  statement  of,  138. 

Tner-diy  morning  History  class,  260. 

Tuileries,  180. 

Tnileries  garden,  101. 

Turner,  slave  ship,  277. 

Tyndall,  326. 


Ulm,  86. 

Umbreit,  89. 

Unitarian  churches,  148. 

Unitarian  parishes,  255. 

Unitarian  in  no  distinctive  sense,  257. 

Unitarians,  sympathy  with,  134. 

Unites  with  First  Church  of  Bristol,  25. 

Unity,  struggle  after,  87  ;  of  the  race, 
203. 

Uuiversity  of  Berlin,  94. 

University,  Brown,  19  :  accepts  pro- 
fessorship in,  253 ;  of  Halle,  68  ; 
Heidelberg,  86. 

University  Hall,  dreaming  in,  344. 

University,  Harvard,  offers  from,  235. 

University,  Johns  Hopkins,  offers 
from,  304. 

University,  of  Vermont,  241. 

University  of  Wisconsin,  offer  from, 
241. 

Unworthiness,  conviction  of,  52. 

Vacation  in  Maine  woods,  336. 
Valencia,  287. 

Vatke  on  history  of  theology,  94. 
Venice,  285. 
Vesuvius,  284. 
Vico,  207. 

View,  unorthodox,  132. 
Visit  to  Hartford,  120. 
Voice,  well-pitched,  123. 
Von  Raumer,  97,  262. 
Vose,  Dr.  James  Gardiner,   recollec- 
tions by,  57. 
Voyage,  79 ;  second,  282. 
Vrooni,  U.  S.  Minister,  at  Berlin,  100. 

Wagner,  Johanna,  99. 

Waisenhaus,  Halle,  76. 

Waite,  Clarendon,  58. 

Walking,  in  Switzerland,  93. 

Walpole,  Sir  Robert,  205. 

Walton,  251. 

Walton's  Angler,  243. 

War,  75 ;  Franco-Prussian,  179. 

Ward  meeting,  speech  at,  339. 

Wartburg,  101. 

Warwick,  106. 

Waterloo,  101. 

Wayland,  President,  40  ;  influence  of, 

24  ;  training  under,  146. 
Weapons,  created  consternation,  332. 
Webster,  195. 
Weimar,  100. 
Westminster  Abbey,  282. 
Whale  fishery,  159. 
Wharf  in  Bristol,  11. 
Whately's  Kingdom  of  Christ,  23. 
Wigglesworth,  Edward,  256. 
Wigglesworth,  Michael,  185,  187. 
Wight,  Abbey  Alden,  5. 
Willeston,  L.  R.,  93. 
Williams,  Roger,  Cotton's  Answer  to, 

157  ;  religion  and  civil  power,  163 ; 

address  at  monument  to,  309. 


INDEX. 


363 


Willis'  rooms,  meeting  at,  104. 

Windermere,  100. 

Wing,   Miss  B.  T.,   recollections  by, 

272. 
Witte,  Professor,  C9 ;  tea  with,  72. 
Wittenberg,  100. 
Wolfenbiittel,  82. 
Women,  friendship  with,  23. 
Woolsey,  President,  222. 
Work,  Christ's,  not  completed  by  His 

death,  133. 


Work,  full  of  consolations,  111 ;  lies 
in  front,  193 ;  pressure  of,  326 ; 
with  ease,  333. 

Worship,  family,  48. 

Xtmenes,  220. 

Year,  close  of,  73. 

York,  106. 

Young,  Edward  J.,  21,  68. 


938.3 


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